Olkiluoto, Finland:
As French President Nicholas Sarkozy visits India, there is huge anticipation that the two countries will ink an agreement for the purchase of six nuclear reactors from the French nuclear giant Areva.
France hopes to sell the 1,650 MW, European Pressurized Reactor or the EPR, which is the world's single largest nuclear reactor. This huge amount of energy is generated as a result of over 100 tons of enriched Uranium that the reactor houses.
"The EPR is the safest nuclear plant in the world it has been designed to be the safest. We have discussions in India today and they have lasted a certain number of months and we are confident that the deal we are negotiating with NPCIL can be decided very soon," said Dominique Mockly, Vice President, Areva, Paris.
India hopes to put up these reactors at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra in the hope that electricity generated at Ratnagiri will reach Kalavathi as well.
The EPR reactors are under construction in Finland, France and China.
Each of these giants cost 4 billion dollars. If India buys six of these at 24 billion dollars, the deal would go down as one of the world's single largest nuclear contracts till date.
However, none of these new reactors have become operational anywhere in the world and many doubt as to whether India is taking a risk in striking the deal.