The reactors will be built by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and Russia's Atomstroyexport company
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi in St Petersburg, India and Russia today signed an agreement on the setting up the Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.
PM Modi, after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the signing of the agreement for the last two units of the Kudankulam nuclear plant will further strengthen the ties between the two countries.
"Energy cooperation is an important aspect of our bilateral relation, Kudankulam plant is a testimony to that claim," PM Modi said in a joint statement with Mr Putin this evening.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said the Russian government was lending India $4.2 billion from next year for a 10-year period to help cover construction costs, reported Reuters.
"We welcome the conclusion of the General Framework Agreement and Credit protocol for Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant," said a document titled 'A vision for the 21st Century', issued after talks between leaders of the two countries.
"We will strive to build an 'energy bridge' between our states and expand bilateral relations in all areas of energy cooperation, including nuclear, hydrocarbon, hydel and renewable energy sources and in improving energy efficiency," the vision document said, adding "the growing partnership in the nuclear power sector between India and Russia has opened opportunities for developing advanced nuclear manufacturing capabilities in India in line with India's "Make In India" initiative.
The nuclear reactors will be built by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Russia's Atomstroyexport company, a subsidiary of Rosatom, the regulatory body of the Russian nuclear complex. Each of the two units will have a capacity to produce 1,000 MW of power.
Under an agreement with PM Modi and Mr Putin in 2015, a deal to build units 5 and 6 of Kudankulam was to be signed by 2016. But the line of credit to be extended by Russia proved a hurdle. News agency Press Trust of India had yesterday quoted sources as saying that last-minute talks are on to iron out details and language of the agreement.
With inputs from PTI and Reuters