A ship carrying two batches of equipment for India’s Kudankulam NPP left Russia for India on 28 December.
Because ships of the required tonnage are traditionally in short supply in December, two consignments were loaded onto one ship, the Combi Dock I, said Vladimir Angelov, Director for Projects in India at Russia’s ASE EC. These were the 22nd and 23rd consignments of equipment for the Kudankulam.
This shipment totalling 9503 cubic metres comprised equipment intended for the second stage of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant – units 3&4. For unit 3, equipment with a long production cycle was shipped, such as cargo and service trolleys, which are parts of the polar crane, and for unit 4 the transport gateway. The cargo included heat exchangers and gates, air passive heat removal systems, storage pool racks, pumps, fittings, storage equipment, pipelines, metal doors, electrical wiring blocks, filters, evaporator equipment, and low-voltage cabinets for complete devices for both units. The equipment is expected to arrive in India in late January.
Kudankulam is being constructed under a 1988 Russian-Indian agreement, which was amended in 1998. The general contractor (in terms of detailed design, equipment supply and technical assistance) is Atomstroyexport, the general designer is Atomenergoproekt. Atomenergomash is a supplier of key equipment.
Kudankulam is one of the largest nuclear power projects in India and is scheduled to have six Russian VVER-1000 reactors. Units 1&2 (stage 1) are in operation, units 3&4 (stage 2) are under construction and units 5&6 (stage 3) are planned with preparatory works in progress.