Watch: Narendra Modi, Jayalalithaa and Vladimir Putin dedicate Kudankulam Nuclear Plant to India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Russian President Vladimir Putin and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will jointly dedicate the  Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP’s) first unit, to the country on Wednesday. You can watch the live proceedings here:

Here is a brief timeline of the events leading up to the dedication of  Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project : 1988 The Indian government under former Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had signed a contract with Soviet Union to build the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in 1988. Due to the dissolution of Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent political and economic upheaval, the project was left in limbo until 1997. The project was then revived in 1998. 2002 Construction AT the KKNPP began in March 2002. 2004 A small port became operational in Kudankulam in January 2004. Prior to the establishment of this port, materials had to be brought in via roads, running the risk of damage during transportation. 2008 With the aim of increasing the total capacity of the power plant, negotiations on building four additional reactors at the site began 2011 The construction of the first two units had to be halted in September 2011 following protests by villagers and local fishermen around the plant. Their concerns ranged from how the reactor would adversely affect their livelihood to the fear of a nuclear accident similar to the Daiichi nuclear accident in Japan. 2012 Work at the plant finally resumed in March 2012. 2013 In July 2013, power generation initially started at 300 Mw, which step by step was increased to 500 Mw. 2014 In December, Unit 1 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was declared commercially operational from December 2014. 2015 For major part of 2015, unit I remained shut. The Plant engineers cited a new and upgraded valve control system that had to be incorporated, which led to delays in bringing back the plant online. This installment only extended the annual maintenance shutdown that started in March, 2015. However, after April, power generation continued non-stop without any snags. 2016 On 10 July, 2016 the second unit of KKNPP- II attained criticality after regulatory and statutory clearances.