TIRUNELVELI: “We expect the First Pour of Concrete for the construction of Units 3 and 4 of Kundakulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) soon,” said KKNPP Site Director R S Sundar, while delivering the Independence Day address at Anu Vijay township, the residential section for KKNPP employees, at Chettikulam.
Referring to KKNP’s Unit 1, Sundar said that 10,900 million units of electricity have been generated after it was synchronised with the grid. “Unit 1 is giving excellent performance from February 22, 2016. The reactor is operating continuously. We have completed 175 days of continuous operation,” he informed.
Recalling that Unit 2 had achieved “The First Criticality” on July 10, 2016, Sundar said that they had completed all the mandatory tests and procured permission from AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) to go ahead and produce electricity from Unit 2. Sundar stated that site excavation activities for Units 3 and 4 began in February 2016. Soil excavation of around six lakh cubic metres has already been completed. “First pour of concrete, a major milestone, will happen very soon. The erection teams have already moved to KKNPP 3 and 4. We will have more activities at the plant site and township in the coming days,” he said.
According to Sundar, the field engineering and quality assurance groups were supporting the finalisation of the contractual agreement with the Russian Federation for Units 3 and 4. “Under the Neighbourhood Development Programme, we have spent about `127 crore, which had been released by the Tirunelveli Collector for various infrastructure projects,” he said.