The order, placed with Larsen & Toubro’s Heavy Civil Infrastructure (HCI) business, encompasses the mechanical package for the Kudankulam 5 and 6 project, including installation of the nuclear reactor and turbine systems (with generator and condenser), sea water systems, polar and trestle cranes, and other related equipment, the company said. It also includes accessories, piping, supports, structural steelwork, painting, anti-corrosion coating, insulation and full testing across various buildings and structures on site.
L&T classifies a “significant” order as one that is worth between INR1,000 and 2,500 crore (USD114-285 million – one crore is 10 million).
The Kudankulam site, about 100 kilometres from the port city of Tuticorin at the southern tip of India, is already home to two operating Russian VVER 1000 pressurised water reactors which have been in commercial operation since 2014 (Kudankulam unit 1) and 2017 (unit 2). Four more are currently under construction, in two phases: construction of units 3 and 4 began in 2017, with work on units 5 and 6 beginning in 2021. Two further units – Kudankulam 7 and 8, larger AES-2006 units with VVER-1200 reactors – have been proposed as a fourth phase of the plant.
L&T’s construction arm secured an order from NPCIL for the construction of the main plant civil works of Kudankulam 5 and 6, including construction of the reactor building, reactor auxiliary building, turbine building, diesel generator building and other safety related structures, in 2021.
The order reinforces L&T’s track record and proven expertise in delivering complex and large-scale nuclear power infrastructure projects for India’s clean energy mission, the company said.
In January 2025, the Government of India launched the Nuclear Energy Mission for Viksit Bharat with a target to increase its nuclear power capacity to 100 GW by 2047.
