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6 November 2009 - Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) will begin construction of two nuclear reactors of 700 MW capacities at Kakrapar in Gujarat, India by the end of the year.
For the first time, NPCIL will build the two pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MW that will use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as both the coolant and moderator.
So far, the company has only built PHWRs of 220 MW or 540 MW capacity.
The laying of foundation for the construction of the 700 MW reactors would take place by the middle of 2010.
"The excavation of the foundation for both the 700 MW units will take place simultaneously by December-end. They will be completed in six years," Mr. Jain said.
The Union government of India had given financial sanction for the construction of two more 700 MW PHWRs at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan.
These 700 MW reactors would form the seventh and eighth units of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS). The fifth PHWR at Rawatbhata (RAPS-5), with a capacity of 220 MW, would be commissioned by November 20 2009.
"The fuel loading in the reactor has been completed. It is imported natural uranium fuel and it has been fabricated at the Nuclear Fuel Complex, Hyderabad."
Heavy water would be loaded into the reactor soon. After the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board gives the clearance, the reactor would be started by November 20, 2009. The RAPS-6, which would also generate 220 MWe, would be commissioned by February 2010.
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