New land acquisition notification soon.

The timelines for the proposed Kovvada Nuclear Power Park in Srikakulam district are likely to be delayed further with a fresh land acquisition notification set to be issued soon for acquiring 2,475 acres to set up the 9,564 MWe plant.

The previous notification issued by the Srikakulam district administration lapsed after the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) did not deposit the stipulated sum of Rs.1,200 crore with the State government for implementing the R & R package.

Once the entire process gets completed and consent award given, the NPCIL would deposit the compensation amount with the district authorities and the acquisition would begin in the villages of Chinna Kovvada, Pedda Kovvada, Tekkali, and Ramachandrapuram villages.

According to G.V. Ramesh, Project Director, Kovvada Nuclear Power Park, the land has already been identified and marked. The compensation to be paid would be in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 2014. The revenue officials were working out the details in relation to the compensation to be paid to about 2,000 displaced families.

While six nuclear reactors (1,594 MWe each) would come up on 2,000 acres, the rehabilitation colony would be built on 175 acres, and the proposed township for employees would require around 300 acres.

Mr. Ramesh said that the R&R package implementation, including the housing colony, would be completed within 18 months.

Simultaneously, geotechnical investigations and environmental impact assessment would be taken up and completed.

With the timelines getting pushed, he said the first pour of concrete for the project was expected to be achieved by the middle of 2017. The second unit was expected to be ready by early 2018, and subsequently one unit each would be added every year.

The entire plant was expected to become operational by 2022.

He said discussions between the NPCIL and GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy on the pricing were still not completed. The cost of each MWe was expected to be in the range of Rs.10-12 and the overall cost of the project would be more than Rs.1,10,000 crore.


THE HINDU