MUMBAI --
Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. said it is working on at least 36 nuclear power projects with a total capacity of about 34 gigawatts, as Asia's third-largest economy tries to meet a surge in demand for power due to its rapid industrialization and urbanization.
The projects include those under the country's indigenous nuclear program as well as joint ventures with Russia, France and the U.S., said Finance Director Jagdeep Ghai in a recent interview.
The bulk of these projects are expected to be completed in the next decade, which will help the state-run nuclear power producer achieve a total capacity of 20,000 megawatts, he said.
NPCIL currently operates 19 nuclear plants, has seven under construction and has a capacity of 4,560 MW.
It has already set a target of achieving a 63,000 MW capacity by 2032.
The company is so far India's only nuclear power plant operator. The federal government restricts private firms and other state-run companies from setting up such projects for security and safety reasons.
NPCIL is building two reactors of 1,000 MW each at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu with Russian components. The two reactors will be built within a year, after which four more reactors will be put up, Mr. Ghai said.
Another six Russian reactors are planned for construction at Haripur in the West Bengal state, he said.
India, among the fastest growing economies in the world, is looking to expand overall electricity generation capacity to bridge its peak-hour shortage, which widened to about 13% in May from about 12% a year earlier.
Last year, NPCIL signed initial civilian nuclear agreements with France's Areva S.A.
"The Areva joint venture reactors to be set up in Jaitapur (in the Maharashtra state) have a capacity of 3,400 MW," Mr. Ghai said, adding that the project is expected to cost more than 300 billion rupees ($6.36 billion.)
He said the joint venture talks for the Jaitapur project are in advanced stages and that around 85% of the imports for the plant are likely to be financed by French banks.
Also, locations to set up reactors of the U.S.-Japanese joint venture, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, have been identified and land acquisition is currently on, said Mr. Ghai.
NPCIL will build six plants each at Chhayamithi Virdi in Gujarat and at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh for the joint venture, and each plant is to have a 1000 MW capacity.
"At least two projects in each of the locations we have identified so far will be completed by 2020," Mr. Ghai said.
He said Kepco of South Korea is also in talks with NPCIL to explore new business opportunities, adding: "Japanese companies also are looking into possibilities (for business in India)," he said.
South Koreans beat Japanese and French rivals to win their first overseas civilian nuclear contract worth billions of dollars from the United Arab Emirates in December 2009. Japan and South Korea are now vying for a chunk of this market in India and have initiated talks with the government.
India started its own nuclear power program decades before it was allowed to sign civilian nuclear agreements with countries such as the U.S. and France. Joint ventures with foreign companies have raised concerns that the country's domestic nuclear program may be overshadowed by imports.
But, "the country's indigenous program is absolutely on track," Mr. Ghai said.
He said the first fast breeder reactor will come up in 2012, after which, 20 more will be constructed. India has designed this reactor to recycle and multiply the nuclear fuel generated by pressurized heavy water reactors.
State-run Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. was set up in 2003 to build India's fast breeder reactors and is currently building the first 500 MW one at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Ghai said he expects the country's uranium supply to improve this year as more of the country's plants will likely start to fall under international safeguards. India's nuclear plants have been running at a lower capacity because of a shortage in uranium supply.
"Our generation capacity was at about 50% capacity last year. We expect it to exceed 60% this year and are targeting 68%."
NPCIL will require a capital expenditure of about 1 trillion rupees over the next 8 to 10 years due to the capacity expansion projects, Mr. Ghai said.
He said, however, that the company is confident of raising sufficient funds for its projects as it has 120 billion rupees in cash and will earn 20 billion rupees a year.
"Public companies like NTPC Ltd., Indian Oil Corp. and National Aluminium Co. have already signed MOUs in order to be partners and will invest in future projects," Mr. Ghai said, adding that NPCIL raised 48 billion rupees in the past six months alone.
Can't wait to get reaction from Bangladeshi friends.
