MUMBAI - Work on the 9,600 MW Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district will kick off Thursday with the process of acquiring 938 hectares of land, a top official said here Wednesday.

The project, in collaboration with French company Areva, would involve setting up six European pressurised water reactors (EPRs), each with a 1,600 MW capacity is expected to be completed around 2020, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd chief S.K. Jain said.

The technical specifications for the first two EPRs, each with a 60-year life-span, would be decided within a month’s time, while the techno-commercial modalities would be worked out by the year-end, Jain told reporters.

The first stage, involving the construction of two EPRs, at a cost of around Rs.33,000-Rs.35,000 crore, would be financed through 70:30 debt equity.

Of the nearly Rs.23,000 crore debt component, about Rs.10,000-15,000 crore would be made available by the French Export Credit Agency and the rest would be raised from domestic and international markets.

The project has already completed the relevant environmental studies and expects clearance of the ministry of environment and forests within six-eight months, Jain added.

The developments follow an MoU signed in February between the French Nuclear Corporation, Areva and NPCIL for the project which intends to have 80 percent indigenisation.

Aiming at multiple sources for its nuclear fuels requirements, India would acquire stake in some of the uranium mines of Areva located in Australia, Niger and Kazakhastan, with the French Nuclear Corporation, or the NPCIL and Areva jointly acquiring mines in other countries and setting up fuel processing facilities, according to Jain.

Speaking on the occasion, French ambassador Jerome Bonnafont said that India and France had arrived at the implementation stage of the bilateral agreement on civilian nuclear agreement.

“India’s responsible behavior in the field of non-proliferation and given its huge energy needs, civil nuclear cooperation would play a crucial role in achieving the objectives of energy security and development of Indian people in a way that limited greenhouse gas emissions,” Bonnafont said.

He expressed France’s desire to expand and intensify its partnership with India in basic and applied research, nuclear safety and radiation protection, controlled thermonuclear fusion, fuel supply, fuel cycle and waste management, as well as in higher education and training in nuclear sciences and technology.

NPCIL finance director J.K. Ghai said that the project would come up on 938 hectares, of which 700 hectares would be utilized for the nuclear plant sites and the rest would go towards the support infrastructure.

The company’s director (Projects) S.K. Gupta said that the project would not displace a single family since 67 percent of the land being acquired was barren, 25 percent was grassy and only seven percent had a single crop of paddy on it.

NPCIL currently operates 17 nuclear reactors in the country with a generation capacity of 4,120 MW, with plans to soon create additional 2,660 MW capacity.