The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was installed at unit 3 of India’s Kudankulam NPP (a VVER-1000 reactor) in Tamil Nadu on 1 May, preparing the way for installation of other reactor plant equipment.
For the first time in India, the RPV was installed in a VVER-type power unit using the open top method. This significantly reduces the project implementation time by optimising and reducing the time and number of installation operations.
In preparation for the installation, a LIEBHERR LR-11350 crawler crane with a lifting capacity of 1130 tons was checked. This is necessary to ensure the technical safety of operations, since the total weight of the RPV is 327 tons.
Kudankulam NPP will eventually have six Russian-supplied VVER-1000 units, located. Unit 1 has been operating steadily at the installed capacity of 1000MW since February 2016. Unit 2 was included in the national power grid of India in August 2016. A General Framework Agreement with Rosatom on the construction of the third and fourth power units was signed in 2014, and in June 2017, the Engineering Division of Rosatom and the Indian Atomic Energy Corporation signed an agreement on the construction of the third stage (units 5&6). First concrete for unit 5 was poured in June 2021 and for unit 6 the following December.
