Indo-US civil nuclear deal implementation will take at least 2 years: Vijay Sazawal

MUMBAI: The ground-level implementation of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal will take at least two years since finalising the business model with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd ( NPCIL) by the US vendors is going to be the most "time consuming" effort, a top nuclear business expert said here today.

"Most time consuming effort in the entire deal is to work out the business model that will end up with a tariff rate in rupees per kilowatt-hour which is acceptable to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited," Director of Government Programmes of a global energy company USEC Inc, Vijay Sazawal told PTI here.

"This model is so different and will take at least two to two-and-a-half years to work out," he said.

Referring to the modalities involved, Sazawal said, "This particular track is the one that US vendors are most unfamiliar with and may end up to be the most critical path in the execution of final contract between American Nuclear Suppliers and the NPCIL".

Sazawal is also a member of the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee of the US Government and is closely involved as the expert on the subject matter in the US-India Business Council.

"I hope that US vendors and Indian utility (NPCIL) will come to a successful closure because of all the investment that went into the signing of the US-India Civil Nuclear cooperation deal," he said.

Observing that the Indo-US nuclear deal is a continuous and multi-dimensional effort at the government-to-government level, Sazawal said the respective governments are trying to exchange ideas and projects regarding safety, improvements in technology and other areas of common interests.