Deals signed with Russia for 2,000 t uranium

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday finalised two agreements with Russia for purchase of large quantities of uranium. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) placed orders for 2,000 tonnes of uranium for its various Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) with Russia���s TVEL, one of the largest suppliers of uranium in the world.

The purchase agreements come within a week of NPCIL signing a commercial pact with France���s Areva for building two nuclear reactors in Jaitapur in Maharashtra. Areva would provide uranium for these reactors for their entire lifetime. Major nuclear powers have been scrambling to sell nuclear services to New Delhi, which is trying to build new generation capacity to cope with a projected increase in demand for energy.

���The total cost of contracts is more than $700 million,��� TVEL said, adding it was the first long-term nuclear fuel contract signed with India since the 45-nation NSG lifted the ban on nuclear trade with India. The ban was imposed after India���s first nuclear test in 1974 and for its refusal to join NPT.

Russia is building two 1,000 MW reactors at Kudankulam as part of a deal signed in 1988. and plans to build more nuclear plants in other parts of the country. Russia agreed in 2008 that it intended to build four more reactors at Kudankulam. The fuel supply will help Indian reactors to operate more efficiently as most of them are running below their capacity due to severe crunch.