Overview
- AERB issued First Pour of Concrete permission on February 24 after a multi‑tier safety review and board approval on February 23.
- The first pour of concrete was held on March 1 at Kaiga in Karnataka, marking the formal start of construction for Units 5 and 6.
- The new units are indigenous 700 MWe PHWRs with advanced safety features aligned to AERB requirements and current IAEA standards.
- The project is estimated at about ₹21,000 crore with Megha Infra Ltd. as the main contractor, using a few large EPC packages to accelerate execution.
- Equipment will be sourced from domestic suppliers, the site’s capacity will rise from 880 MW to 2,280 MW, and the build is expected to create local jobs and business opportunities.