India and France hope to go ahead with setup of  9900 MW Nuclear Plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra by 2012 end.
“Negotiations are on. They are progressing well. We hope to seal the deal in the second half of this year,” the official said Saturday, referring to the proposed pact involving six nuclear power units of 1,650 MW each.
“The financial closure is not over. So the cost is not known as yet. But I can say with surety we will bring it down. It will be as low as possible,” the official added.
The technology for the power plants is proposed by French energy major Areva, which already has pacts with the Indian state-run Nuclear Power Corp of India and the private sector Larsen and Toubro.
The Jaitapur nuclear plant, when built, will be the largest power station in the world. A broad agreement for the plant was signed in December 2010 with Areva and the Nuclear Power Corp as principal executors.
Officials said similar nuclear power projects in Europe were expected to have entailed a cost of $2 billion for each unit of 1,500 MW. Units with similar technology are currently operational only in France and Finland.
While the recent dip in the value of the Indian rupee has added to the costs in rupee terms, officials were optimistic on still lowering it during negotiations.