India, France to finalise Jaitapur nuclear park contract next year
12 Nov 2009
New Delhi: India and France expect to finalise the contract for setting up of two civil nuclear power plants through a joint venture by next year. The plants will come up at Jaitapur in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
Jerome Bonnafont, French ambassador to India, described the progress of negotiations between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and France's nuclear company Areva as going "quite well." He said he expected the contract to be finalised by next year.
According to Bonafonte, the contract under which two power plants of 1,650 MW each will be set up at Jaitapur was given to Areva this year around mid-July, and negotiations were currently on between the two sides.
The contract was prepared on the basis of a MoU signed between NPCIL and Areva last February.
Bonafonte said while NPCIL would be the operator, Areva would be the builder.
