Bhoomi pooja performed for Kudankulam 3rd, 4th units

Tirunelveli: The ground-breaking ceremony for construction of the third and fourth units of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), an Indo-Russian joint venture, was performed on Wednesday.

KNPP Site Director RS Sundar, Project Director of the third and and fourth units PA Pillai were among those present at the 'Bhoomi Pooja' ceremony, officials said.

In 2014, India and Russia had signed a general framework agreement for construction of the second phase of the KNPP, involving the third and fourth units. Each reactor has a capacity of 1,000 MWe and are supplied by Russia.

The work for setting up the third and fourth units is expected to begin in April this year, they added.

The first 1000 MWe unit at KNPP, which faced prolonged protests from anti-nuclear activists, commenced its commercial operations in December 2014.

The work on the second 1000 MWe reactor is underway and government had recently stated that it is expected to be commissioned later this year.