India Dissatisfied With Costs of Nuclear Power Project With France

India sent a strong message to France that it will not go ahead with the project unless the costs of production for the Jaitapur nuclear power project would be affordable.

New Delhi (Sputnik) —  India’s Atomic Energy Commission has made it clear that Western nuclear reactors will be welcomed only if it generates power at affordable rates.

"We are currently negotiating (with French company EDF) on the financing and cost aspect as we want to provide power from these plants at affordable tariffs. Once we come to a conclusion on this aspect, we will then go ahead with developing the plan for setting up of the Jaitapur nuclear power project," Ravi Grover, member, Atomic Energy Commission of India, said.

India signed Memorandum of Understanding with France for setting up six nuclear reactors at Jaitapur in March this year. Both countries decided to conclude the final agreement by end of 2016. Technical aspects of the deal have been resolved but expected costs of production have become a major hindrance for going ahead with the agreement.

Before finalizing the decision of setting up new reactors, India is comparing costs of production with Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), which is being established with the cooperation of Russia. On October 15, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin laid down the foundation stone for units 3 and 4 of the KNPP.