Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), the lone supplier of fabricated fuel to nuclear power plants in India, is firming up a memorandum of understanding with L&T for supply of indigenous tubes for steam generators used in nuclear reactors.
“We are working out the modalities of the MoU, which would entail our fabricating these tubes made from a special alloy developed indigenously for the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors and supply them to L&T,” said Mr R.N. Jayaraj, Chief Executive of the Hyderabad-based NFC.
L&T has sourced a batch of these tubes, worth about Rs 35 crore, for the 700 MW PHWR of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.
NFC had initially fabricated these special tubes for the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor, which is under construction near Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu. L&T made the heat exchanger for the same reactor.
The steam generator and the turbine are two important components of all power plants, including the nuclear power reactor. The tubes are a vital component. So far tubes have mostly been imported for the nuclear reactors.
With the NPCIL in the process of setting up half a dozen nuclear power reactors of 700 mw and 500 mw capacities, L&T hopes to bag contracts. Each steam generator requires 25 tubes. Once, the modalities of the MoU are finalised, NFC plans to begin fabrication in a big way during 2009-10, Mr Jayaraj added.
| NIFTY 
