Russian firm may sign nuclear fuel deal with India

Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL expects to sign a $780 million contract for fuel supplies to Indian nuclear power plants, a spokesman for Russia’s state nuclear power corporation Rosatom has said.

The contract, if signed, could make Russia the first country to supply nuclear fuel to India since the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted a three-decade ban on nuclear fuel sales to the country on Sept 6, 2008.

“The contract is likely to be signed on February 11 in Mumbai,” the spokesman said Saturday.

Under the deal, Russia would supply 2,000 tonnes of uranium pellets to India.

In December, the French company Areva and India’s Atomic Energy Department signed a deal for the supply of 300 tonnes of uranium to be used in Indian nuclear reactors under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.

The fuel contract would be another step in burgeoning nuclear cooperation between Russia and India.

On Dec 5, Moscow and Delhi signed an agreement to build an additional four reactors for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, where it is finishing two reactors under an earlier contract, and construct new nuclear plants in India.

TVEL is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of nuclear fuel, which it supplies to 73 commercial (17 percent of global market) and 30 research reactors in 13 countries.

(Source: SindhToday.net)