AP awaits clearance for nuclear plant site at Kadapa

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, March 24

The Andhra Pradesh Government is awaiting clearance from the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) for the site in Kadapa district identified for setting up a 2,000 MW nuclear plant in a joint venture.

The site selection committee for the joint venture between NPCIL and AP Genco recently visited the 2,000-acre site selected by the State Government and the local administration near Pulivendula in Kadapa.

NPCIL had agreed in principle to form a joint venture with AP Genco in the bid to set up this 2,000 MW plant, according to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office.

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, plans to take up the issue of the nuclear power plant with the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and seek the Centre's support for its implementation.

The Chief Minister held discussions with the Energy Department officials and AP Genco teams and directed them to expedite the implementation of various projects and ensure that all bottlenecks are removed on priority basis.

According to the statement, AP Genco is amongst the largest power-generating companies with an installed capacity of 7,588 MW comprising 3,883 MW of thermal power (about 51 per cent), 3,703 MW (48.8 per cent ) of hydel and two MW of wind power.

AP Genco has embarked on a process to expand the capacity by 16,865 MW in the next five years. This includes 11 thermal, five hydel, two gas-based projects and one nuclear power plant. Of the planned additions, AP Genco has managed to add about 1,037 MW.

About 10 projects with installed capacity of 3,946 MW are under different stages of construction.