‘Koodankulam to start production in 40 days’

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayansamy said on Monday that the first reactor at the Koodankulam nuclear power plant will start producing electricity in the next 40 days.

Speaking to reporters, he said officers from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board were at the site to inspect the reactors and are likely to give their final safety certificate within a week.

"After that we will load the fuel — uranium. It will take 20 days for the trial run. After 20 days we will start the actual production. Approximately, within a period of 40 days, the first reactor of 1000 MW will be started. Within two months of the date of commissioning of the first reactor, the second one will be started. We are fast moving in the direction of generation of electricity from the Koodankulam power plant," Narayansamy said.

The two 1000-MW nuclear reactors, being built with Russian help, had run into trouble because of protests from local organisations. The protests have delayed the commissioning of the reactors — the first one was supposed to have become operational in December last year.

Narayansamy said the Tamil Nadu government was offering full support and more than 2,000 employees and engineers from India and Russia were working day and night to ensure an early start of the reactors.

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