India's $4.7 Billion Chutka Nuclear Power Project Begins Construction

Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The construction of two 700-megawatt (MW) pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) for the nuclear power project at Chutka in Madhya Pradesh will involve an investment of about $2.7 billion by state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) (Mumbai, India). The overall project cost is estimated to be $4.7 billion.

The initial cost estimate for the project, made in June 2011, was $1.9 billion, according to the draft environmental assessment (EIA). The EIA report, prepared by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) at Nagpur, has given in-principle approval to setting up PHWRs at five sites. The PHWRs are expected to provide a cumulative generating capacity of 11,200 MW.

The project will cover 497.73 hectares, of which 67.7 will be for residential use for employees; the balance will be used for the power plant. NPCIL is scheduling the completion of the first unit by December 2020 and the second by June 2021.

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