MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/. Russian nuclear specialists completed a test assembly of the reactor vessel for the Kudankulam NPP (India), the press service of the Atomenergomash reported on Thursday.
Atomenergomash is the machine-building division of state nuclear corporation Rosatom. The work was carried out at the site of Atommash, an enterprise of Atomenergomash.
The assembly of the reactor for the Kudankulam NPP was carried out in an underground caisson. With the help of a crane specialists installed the 11-meter VVER-1000 reactor vessel in the design position. Then, one by one, a 10-meter internal shaft weighing 73 tons, a baffle of 38 tons, a block of protective pipes - 68 tons were lowered inside. Then the nuclear reactor was closed with a standard cover. During the assembly, the employees installed dowels and fasteners on the reactor vessel, and fixed fixtures for centering the reactor lid. The total weight of the assembled product was 603 tons, according to Atomenergomash.
The Kudankulam NPP is a nuclear power plant with VVER-1000 power units, located in southern India, in the state of Tamil Nadu. Since February 2016, the first power unit of the Kudankulam NPP has been steadily operating at the design power level of 1,000 MW. The second power unit was connected to India's national power grid on August 29, 2016. The Master Framework Agreement with Rosatom on the construction of the third and fourth units was signed in the spring of 2014. In June 2017, Engineering Division of Rosatom State Corporation and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited signed an agreement for the construction of the third stage (power units No. 5 and No. 6) of the Kudankulam NPP. In 2021, the construction of the power units No.5 and No.6 began. The NPP is expected to start operating at full capacity in 2027.