By IANS
Tuticorin : India has mastered the “design, fabrication, and erection of a range of commercially viable nuclear reactors” and can share this expertise with developing countries, Atomic Energy Chairperson Anil Kakodkar has said.
He said Friday that the Nuclear Power Corporation Ltd (NPCL) had a lot of expertise in the field and “could share this expertise with others, if allowed”.
He was speaking at a programme where a giant caisson (sea water intake pipe made of concrete) for the nuclear power project near here was set afloat on the sea off the coast of Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu.
The hollow concrete structure, 36 m in length, 15 m in width and 12.5 m high, was set afloat to let seawater enter the reactors to cool their condensers. It was towed out to the Gulf of Mannar, 1.2 km from the shore.
The 2,400 MT concrete structure is the heaviest in the country to be set afloat, officials said.
Kakodkar said the NPCL, which is setting up the Koodankulam project in this district of Tamil Nadu, could consider turning the site into a “nuclear park”.
He said the NPCL was financially sound and there were no plans as of now to allow the private sector to build and operate nuclear power stations. However they may be considered for “investment in future projects”, with the government retaining major stake in such projects.