17 Oct (NucNet): First concrete has been poured for the foundation slabs of Units 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam nuclear station in Tamil Nadu, southern India, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.
India and Russia also held an official inauguration ceremony for Kudankulam-2, which was connected to the grid in August 2016 and is expected to begin commercial operation in December 2016.
In a separate statement India’s prime minister Narendra Modi said there are proposals for “another eight” Russian reactors to be built at the site.
A joint statement by Mr Modi and Russian president Vladimir Putin said a general framework agreement and an agreement on a loan for construction of Kudankulam-5 and -6 will be signed by the end of the year.
Kudankulam-2, a Russian VVER-1000 pressurised water reactor unit, was built at Kudankulam as part of an agreement between India and Russia signed in 1988 that also saw the construction of Kudankulam-1, which began commercial operation in December 2014.
In April 2014, Russia and India signed a general framework agreement on the construction of the second phase of Kudankulam, which includes Kudankulam-3 and -4.
