Private players can participate in n-power projects: FICCI

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) A day after the US Senate gave a resounding 86-13 approval to the historic India-US nuclear deal, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Thursday urged the government to immediately initiate the next steps for building nuclear power generation capacity in a big way.

According to the FICCI, the Indian private sector has already acquired capabilities for participating in nuclear power projects.

Private sector investors should be allowed to have majority ownership in power projects, the industry forum said. This will boost private investment in nuclear power sector.

The country has the potential to generate 60,000 MW of nuclear power over the next 25 years, which needs an investment of over $100 billion.

The government is already vetting 10 nuclear power projects.

Companies like National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC), Reliance Energy, Tata Power, Larsen and Toubro, and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd can now look forward to working as partners with international companies like General Electric, Westinghouse, Areva and Atomstroy in the field of nuclear energy generation.