NEW DELHI -- State-run NTPC Ltd. and Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. Tuesday signed a pact to set up a joint venture company to build nuclear power projects in India.
NPCIL will hold a 51% stake and NTPC will hold 49% in the joint venture company, NPCIL said in a statement.
"This marks our entry into nuclear power. We will incorporate the company in one or two months and decide on sites and capacity addition," NTPC Chairman R.S. Sharma said. NTPC aims to set up nuclear power projects with a capacity of about 2,000 megawatts by 2017.
Nuclear power comprises less than 3% of India's total power generation capacity of 157,229 MW. The country is looking to increase the contribution from nuclear power as it is considered critical to help solve India's energy deficit.
Coal-fired plants, which produce more than 70% of India's power, are struggling to keep up with rising demand for electricity in the second-fastest growing major economy.
Currently, NPCIL and Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. are the two companies authorized to set up nuclear power plants in the country.
NPCIL currently has a capacity of 4,560 MW. It is setting up seven nuclear power reactors with a total capacity of 5,020 MW.
It is seeking joint ventures with state-run companies as it needs investments worth billions of dollars to meet its long-term nuclear power generation capacity targets--as much as 63,000 MW by 2032.
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