"We have to launch eight 700 MW pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) and eight light water reactors (LWRs) involving a total outlay of Rs 230,000 crore (Rs 2.3 trillion). The LWRs will be from foreign companies," SK Jain, who retired as NPCIL chairman and managing director, said in an interview.
According to him, the eight 700 MW PHWRs would come up at Kaiga in Karnataka, Gorakhpur in Haryana's Fatehabad district, Banswada in Rajasthan and Chutka in Madhya Pradesh.
The 16 reactors are in addition to NPCIL's four 700 MW PHWRs under construction — two at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (units 7 and 8) and two at Kakrapara in Gujarat — at an outlay of Rs 22,000 crore.
The NPCIL currently generates 4,780 MW of power. The new additions of 4,800 will take this to 9,580 MW. A 500 MW reactor to be commissioned by another company, Bhavini, will take India's installed nuclear power capacity to 10,080 MW by the end of the 12th Plan.
This will be three percent of the 300,000 MW generation capacity planned by 2017. India currently generates a little less than 200,000 MW of power.
"Eighteen overseas banks have come out for arranging debt to NPCIL's expression of interest that was floated recently. Four have said they would underwrite the entire debt funding for our projects," Jain said.
According to him the company is looking at external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and export credit agencies (ECA) for funds and over a month ago, NPCIL raised $250 million through ECBs.
He said three public-private-partnership joint venture companies have been incorporated and the projects would be soon allotted for them after the Atomic Energy Act is amended to allow such tie-ups in the nuclear field.
NPCIL has entered into a three-way joint venture with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and Alstom for manufacturing turbines for the 700MW PHWRs.
The atomic power plant operator has another joint venture with Larsen and Toubro for making forgings for nuclear power plants.
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