VLADIVOSTOK (TASS) — Russia is ready to develop cooperation with India in the field of nuclear energy; in 20 years it is planned to build at least 12 nuclear power units, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference following talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We consider Rosatom’s cooperation with Indian partners as a flagship joint project, including that [cooperation] for the construction of a modern Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. The first two units are in operation”, Putin said.

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant

The first two units of the Russian-Indian Kudankulam NPP are in operation, the Russian president said. He noted that construction of the third and fourth power units of this nuclear power plant is underway. “Under the existing agreements, at least 12 Russian-designed power units will be built over the course of 20 years”, Putin stated.

An Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) on the project was signed on 20 November 1988 by the Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi and the Soviet head of state, Mikhail Gorbachev, for the construction of two reactors. The project remained in limbo for a decade due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. There were also objections from the United States, on the grounds that the agreement did not meet the 1992 terms of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). However, the project was revived on 21 June 1998.

Construction began on 31 March 2002, with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) predicting that the first unit would be operational in March 2007, instead of the original target of December 2007.