French major EDF, which has got the contract for building reactors for the Jaitapur nuclear power plant, has said India will have to provide a sovereign guarantee to two other state-run firms of France for providing financial assistance for the project. The EDF, which will construct the country’s largest nuclear power park comprising six atomic power reactors of 1,650-MW each in coastal Maharashtra, had submitted a techno-commercial offer to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) in December last year.
The NPCIL, a PSU under the Department of Atomic Energy, operates over 20 nuclear reactors in the country. India is yet to respond to the techno-commercial offer, sources said. Replying to a question on the financial aspect of the project, Vakis Ramany, Senior Vice President at EDF, in an e-mail interview to PTI, said the total cost of the project is “confidential and may not be disclosed” at this stage. He said EDF would only act as the EPR technology provider and not be an investor itself but would facilitate financing discussions as much as possible.
