OREANDA-NEWS. December 5, 2008. A Russian-Indian agreement for cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy will be signed in New Delhi on Friday, Dec 5, after the negotiation of President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev with Indian leaders. The agreement envisages construction of four more reactors at Kudankulam and supply of fuel worth over USD 700mln.

Mass media report that the total cost of the agreement is USD 6bln.

Kiriyenko says that the parties are also considering the possibility of building the 7th and 8th units of Kudankulam as well as reactors at new sites. “In fact, we have agreed to start serial production of Russian reactors for Indian nuclear industry,” says Kiriyenko.

The equipment for Indian NPPs will be manufactured in India. Presently, Russia is building two reactors at Kudankulam.

The market price of one reactor is USD 2bln. For India the price is 30% lower as Russia is supplying equipment and managing the project while the construction is being carried out by the Indians, reports Vedomosti with reference to press secretary of Rosatom Sergey Novikov. Russia will also supply the plant with fuel throughout its life, which costs almost as much as the construction.