India's Union Minister of State for Science & Technology, Jitendra Singh has announced that a nuclear plant will be constructed in the state of Haryana – the first NPP in north India. Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana (GHAVP) will be sited in Gorakhpur town in the Fatehabad district, about 150 km north of New Delhi. Singh said the decision was in line with the priority to increase India's nuclear capacity. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) said that one of the major achievements of the current government would be the construction of NPPs in parts of India other than south states such as Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, or states in the west such Maharashtra, where current plants are mostly located. Singh also noted that DAE had also been given permission to set up joint ventures with public sector undertakings (PSUs) to install NPPs
GHAVP will have two 700 MWe indigenously designed pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) units. To date, a total of INR49bn ($592m) has been spent from the total allocated funds of INR206bn ($2.48bn), or around 23.8%. Construction of other main plant buildings or structures, is progressing well, DAE said. These include the fire water pump house, safety-related pump house, fuel oil storage area, ventilation stack, overhead tank, switchyard control building, and others. Purchase orders for major long-lead manufacturing cycle equipment/components are already in place, such as primary coolant pumps, calandria, reactor headers, refuelling machines heads, moderator and other heat exchangers.
Image: Union Minister of State for Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh (courtesy of Twitter/Dr Jitendra Singh)
