By IANS,
Hyderabad : Andhra Pradesh’s first nuclear power project is likely to come up in Kadpa, the home district of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
The district officials Monday visited some sites to identify land for setting up 2,000 MW plant. As the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) is building uranium mine and mill in the district, the nuclear power project is also likely to come up in the vicinity.
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd has already expressed keenness to set up the plant in a joint venture with Andhra Pradesh Generation Corporation (AP Genco), said a statement from the chief minister’s office this evening.
AP Genco has submitted a proposal for setting up the plant at Kadpa or Srikakulam. Officials sources said the government preferred Kadpa due to upcoming uranium mine and mill.
The nuclear power plant is likely to come up in Pulivendula, the assembly constituency of the chief minister. He is likely to take a final decision in this regard at a meeting to be held at Pulivendula Oct 11.
Hours after the approval of the 123 agreement by the US Congress, the chief minister Thursday announced that the state would set up a nuclear power plant and asked AP Genco to prepare a preliminary report. The corporation Monday submitted its report to the chief minister.
This was the first initiative by any state to set up atomic power plant in the wake of Indo-US nuclear agreement.
The statement from the chief minister’s office said Andhra Pradesh has the advantage of availability of uranium in Kadapa, location of nuclear fuel complex in Hyderabad, heavy water plant at Manuguru in Khammam district, easy availability of land and water and a large coastline.
The UCIL in August this year laid foundation stone for uranium mine and mill in Kadpa district. The project, being built at a cost of Rs.11.29 billion, would have a capacity to produce 150,000 tonnes of uranium a year.
There was a proposal to set up nuclear power plants at Nagarjunasagar and Srikakulam about two decades ago but they did not materialise.
The chief minister also announced that AP Genco would establish a second ultra mega thermal power project of 4,000 MW capacity near Vodarevu in Prakasam district.
He would lay the foundation stone for the ultra mega project in December.
In addition to this, the government of India would establish another ultra mega thermal power project of 4,000 MW capacity either at Vodarevu or at Nizampatnam.
The present installed capacity of AP Genco is 7,048.9 MW – 3,382.5 thermal, 3,664.4 hydro and 2 MW of wind mills power.