NEW DELHI - France on Oct 26 said it is preparing to start work at the proposed 1,650-MW nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra.

“We have already signed an MoU between NPCIL, Areva and we are preparing for the construction of the civil nuclear plant located in Jaitapur,” Foreign Trade Minister of France, Anne Marie Idrac told reporters at a CII event.

French firm Areva would supply the equipment for the nuclear power project to be developed by state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL).

Both India and France have agreed to set up six units of Europea Pressurized Reactors (EPRs) over the next 12 to 15 years, and the total funding needs for setting up 10,000 MW capacity is about at Rs 1,00,000 crore.

NPCIL recently said it has tied up funds for the Jaitapur power project. The project requires an investment of about Rs 33,000 crore, out of which Rs 15,000 crore would come from external credit assistance (ECA). The ECA will be from a consortium of five French banks, including BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, HSBC and Calyon.

NPCIL would infuse an equity of Rs 10,000 crore for the project and the remaining amount will be borrowed from both Indian and French financial institutions.            (PTI)