Nuclear Power Corp.'s Kudankulam plant is seen from Tsunami Nagar, India | Photo Credit: Adeel Halim

Rosatom State Corporation, the Russian state-owned company behind the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday announced the installation of the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) in Unit 5 of the plant.

RPVs are large, high-precision containment structures which houses the reactor core where the actual nuclear fission reaction takes place. They are designed to withstand extreme temperatures and pressure environments.

The RPV in Kudankulam Plant was installed using the Open Top method, in which equipment is installed into the reactor building using a heavy-duty crane before the dome is erected.

Weighing about 300 tonne, the RPV was manufactured at Volgodonsk in Russia and was delivered to the Kudankulam NPP construction site in 2025, the release said.

The installation of the reactor vessel will be followed by other critcial installations like steam generators, main circulation pumps, main circulation pipeline units, pressure compensator, and tanks for the emergency core cooling system.

The 6000 Megawatt(MW)Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant project includes six VVER-1000 pressurized water reactors with Unit 1 and Unit 2 current operational. Unit 3 is expected to be operational in 2026 with the other units following thereafter.

“The secret to the success of the Kudankulam NPP project is the long-standing and fruitful cooperation between India and Russia. Indian specialists are constructing and commissioning four power units based on the Russian design, while two more power units have already been generating electricity for over 10 years. All this speaks to excellent teamwork aimed at strengthening the partnership between the two countries,” said Mikhail Novikov, Director of Projects in India at ASE JSC.

Published on June 16, 2026