Sunday, December 16, 2007 (Mumbai)
ndtv.com
US fuel suppliers are queuing up to tap the vast potential of India's civilian nuclear industry notwithstanding the delay in IAEA negotiations, mandated by the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Last week, representatives of over 20 US companies were in Mumbai exploring the possibilities of partnership in India, which could run into several billion dollars in nuclear fuel supplies alone.
Concerned over the delay in the negotiations, US companies' representatives feared that India may lose out to China if it did not hurry. It is expected that at least 200 to 300 nuclear power reactors would come up globally and the fuel supply chain was very important.
Although the sanctions on Indian companies dealing with nuclear components has not been lifted, the US energy companies are trying to have a some sort of tie-up or partnership with them. They are also looking at making India a hub for nuclear business, sources said.
A Hyderabad-based company MTR has already given 20 per cent of its share to a US company despite the sanctions.
The industry sources said, with this kind of arrangements, the US company could expand their fuel supply chain in this region. A delegation of US energy firms were here on a two-day visit for the second time this year to explore possiblities of joint ventures.
''There are constraints and lack of supply chain in the global energy sector as the Western countries did not expand their nuclear programme for the last two decades,'' said Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) Chairman and Managing Director S K Jain.
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