French firm EDF signs deal to build 6 nuclear plants in India

The company has signed a MoU with NPCIL for constructing 6 EPR nuclear reactors at Jaitapur

French utility EDF said it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) for the construction of six EPR nuclear reactors at Jaitapur, in the west of India.

With this agreement, EDF takes over the long-delayed project from French nuclear group Areva, which will sell its reactor arm to EDF later this year.

The Jaitapur project is at the preliminary technical studies stage after getting initial environmental clearance in 2010, EDF said in a statement. A contract for pre-engineering studies was signed by Areva and NPCIL last April.

EDF said that in the next few months it would continue work started by Areva and NPCIL to secure certification for the EPR reactor in India and to finalise the economic and financial conditions, and technical specifications of the project, supervised by Indian atomic organisation DAE.