The negotiations for the third and fourth units of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant are at an ‘advanced stage’, with indications that an agreement could be reached before the end of UPA-2 government’s tenure.
Last week, India and Russia had discussed the Koodankulam nuclear power project during their inter-governmental commission meeting.
The meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and visiting deputy foreign minister Dmitry Rogozin of Russia Few days ago, the Rosatom chief Sergey Kirienko was also in Delhi to discuss the progress of works in the Koodankulam power project.
“The negotiations are at an advanced stage,” said a senior government official. He did not rule out signing of an agreement for the Koodankulam plant’s units 3 and 4 before the tenure of the current government runs out.
It was pointed out that the code of conduct that will be in place during the election campaign will not cover this agreement, as it was not a new project. The project was started several years ago and is underway.
The negotiations for the Koodankulam nuclear power plant’s units 3 and 4 had been primarily stuck over the imposition of the domestic nuclear liability law on suppliers. The issue has resulted in Russia increasing the cost manifold for the two units whose works are to be taken up soon.
Reacting to a query last week, External Affairs Secretary Sujatha Singh said, “This is a delicate issue. I will not like to jump the gun by making any announcements before they are actually due”.
She went on to say that the negotiations were getting the government’s ‘full attention’. “We hope that we will be in a position to sign the agreements very soon,” added the secretary.