NEW DELHI, October 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russia expects to sign an agreement with India to build another four reactors for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in November, Russia's acting security council secretary said on Tuesday.
"The issue is currently being considered, and I hope the agreement to build another four power units will be signed" during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow scheduled for November 11-12, Valentin Sobolev told journalists.
"This is necessary for India and is useful for us. The construction of four power units means at least 10 years work," Sobolev said, adding that Russia would supply fuel for the units on condition that spent nuclear fuel is subsequently returned.
Atomstroyexport, Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, has been building the Kudankulam plant in the southern province of Tamil Nadu since 2002 in line with a 1988 agreement between India and the Soviet Union and an addendum signed ten years later. The plant is designed to have a capacity of 2,000 MW.
Russia granted India a loan on beneficial terms to build the NPP.
Sobolev also said Russia proposed that India invest in the construction of a uranium enrichment center in Angarsk, east Siberia, adding that this would be one of the possible areas for cooperation, considering the Kudankulam NPP cooperation.
The nuclear center, part of Moscow's non-proliferation initiative to create a network of enrichment centers under the UN nuclear watchdog's supervision, will be based at a chemical plant in Angarsk. The center, co-founded by Russia and Kazakhstan, will also be responsible for the disposal of nuclear waste.
Russian President Vladimir Putin first raised the idea of a joint nuclear enrichment center early last year, in a bid to defuse tensions over Iran's controversial nuclear program. The president said the center would give countries transparent access to civilian nuclear technology without provoking international fears that enriched uranium could be used for covert weapons programs.
