First concrete pour for Unit 1 of the Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana nuclear project will take place in October, Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said after reviewing progress at the site.
The project, led by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), will house four 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) built in two phases. Excavation work began in 2018 after regulatory approvals, but the milestone has been repeatedly delayed.
“Unit 1 will achieve first criticality by June 2030 and start commercial operations by March 2031. Unit 2 will follow six months later,” Khattar said during his visit on 14th July.
While the government already counts the first two units as under construction, the International Atomic Energy Agency recognises construction only after the base mat concrete is poured.
Units 3 and 4 at Gorakhpur are part of a fleet-mode rollout of ten reactors cleared by the Centre, including projects at Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan, Kaiga in Karnataka, and Chutka in Madhya Pradesh.
India currently operates 24 nuclear reactors with an installed capacity of 8.88 GW. Six more units, totalling 4,768 MWe, are under construction. The country aims to expand nuclear capacity to 100 GW by 2047.
