“During recent discussions between NPCIL and WEC for setting up six units of AP-1000 reactors at Kovvada, Andhra Pradesh, WEC has expressed willingness to continue with the proposed project in India. Further progress in these discussions will depend upon finalization of techno-commercial aspects of the project acceptable to the Indian side and upon establishing the viability of the project,” India’s Minister of State for Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh said.
Apart from the financial condition of Westinghouse Electric, the operationalization of the deal is also depending on the completion of the India-Japan Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. For supplying any reactor parts, Toshiba — the parent company of Westinghouse — will have to work according to the yet-to-be-ratified India-Japan Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in November last year.
Last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then US President Barack Obama had agreed to “work toward finalizing the contractual arrangements by June 2017” for six reactors at Kovvada. India and the US had signed the civil nuclear cooperation deal on October 10, 2008, which came into force on December 6, 2008.
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