The ceremony – see picture above – at the site in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state was held just days after approval was given by India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board for the first pour of concrete for the Kaiga 5 and 6 units, which are to be 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors.
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) said it achieved the “significant milestone” on Sunday and said: “In a first, Kaiga-5&6 project is being implemented adopting an innovative strategy involving just a few mega EPC packages (like Excavation, Nuclear Island, Turbine Island and Nuclear Instrumentation) to enable faster project execution and reduced interface issues”. (EPC refers to the engineering, procurement, construction contract).
It added: “Kaiga Units-5&6 are state-of-the-art, indigenous 700 MW PHWRs, which incorporate advanced safety features and are among the safest in the world. The components and equipment for the project are supplied by domestic industry partners and works are being executed by Indian contractors, aligning with the Atmanirbhar initiatives of the Government.”
“This project is expected to create substantial employment and business opportunities for the local people, stimulate economic development in the region & beyond, and enhance infrastructure in the surrounding areas,” NPCIL added.
(Image: NPCIL/X)
Excavation works for the units – which are part of a planned fleet of ten such reactors – began in May 2022. Indian engineering company Larsen & Toubro has already manufactured and dispatched four of the eight steam generators for the units.
In April 2025 NPCIL presented a purchase order for the contract to build Kaiga units 5 and 6 to Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd in the first major nuclear contract for the Hyderabad-based company. The INR12,800 crore (about USD1.5 billion) engineering, procurement and construction contract for the two 700 MWe nuclear reactors was the biggest order placed by NPCIL. (1 crore is 10 million).
Two 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor units at Kakrapar, in Gujurat, are already in commercial operation. Another, Rajasthan unit 7, reached full power earlier this month. Construction is ongoing on a second 700 MWe unit at the Rajasthan site.
India’s government has sanctioned the “fleet mode” construction of further 700 MWe units at Gorakhpur in Haryana; Chutka in Madhya Pradesh; and Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan. India’s ambition is to have at least 100 GW of nuclear energy capacity by 2047 to support its energy transition efforts.
Kaiga nuclear power plant has four existing 202 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor units, which were connected to the grid between 1999 and 2011.
