Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has laid the foundation stone of the 2,800-MWe Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana (nuclear power project) at Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad district of Haryana.
The 4×700 MWe nuclear power plant, which is being developed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, will be completed in two phases comprising two units of 700 MWe each. Phase-I of 1,400 MWe is scheduled to be completed by 2020-21. Around 8,000-10,000 people are expected to get employment during phase-I through contractual assignments. A township is also proposed to be set up as part of this project.
In his inaugural speech, Prime Minister Singh said that India was capable of producing 4,800 MW power today and would produce more than 27,000 MW of electricity in coming 10 years. The GHAVP nuclear project was based on indigenous technology, he said, adding that the reactors for this plant were also being installed in nuclear plants at Kakrapar in Gujarat and Rawatbhata in Rajasthan.
The proposed 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) are indigenous and similar to the ones currently under construction in Gujarat (Kakrapar 3 & 4) and Rajasthan (Rawatbhata 7 & 8). The reactor size and design features of 700 MWe are similar to that of the 540 MWe Units 3 & 4 of Tarapur Atomic Power Plant 3 & 4 units.
The Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana nuclear power plant is being built at an estimated cost of Rs. 20,594 crore. It will be the first nuclear plant in Haryana and 21st in India. The Haryana government has provided 1,319 acres (534 hectares) for the project and nearly 186 acres (75 hectares) for housing colonies of plant employees and CISF personnel.
The cooling water requirement for the four units has been estimated at 320 cusecs which will be drawn from Bhakra canal. The total water requirement for the project including the township is estimated at 784 mld. Waste from both the project and township would be suitably treated and disposed of while the sewage sludge would be used for a greenbelt. The environmental concerns related to the project have already been.
