India Russia Could Sign Deal on Construction of Two Kudankulam NPP Units in 2016

New Delhi and Moscow could sign an agreement on the construction of units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant before the end of the year.

GOA (India) (Sputnik) — New Delhi and Moscow could sign an agreement on the construction of units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant (NPP) before the end of the year, an Indian governmental source told RIA Novosti on Saturday.

"The leaders [of India and Russia] will announce that they expect the signing of the agreement [on construction of the two units] before the end of the year," the source said.

The source added that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have a possibility to discuss some questions on the issue later in the day.

The construction of the Kudankulam NPP was initially agreed by the Soviet Union and India back in 1988, but the project was in limbo. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom launched a joint project to build the NPP in 2012. The first unit reached full capacity in July 2014, and is currently India’s most powerful reactor with a maximum operating capacity of 1,000 megawatt.