India says it¡¯s edging closer to a nuclear pact with Japan, which would open up one of the world¡¯s fastest expanding power markets to vendors struggling for growth after the Fukushima disaster.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go over the final steps of a civil nuclear treaty with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe during a visit to Japan starting Thursday, according to Sekhar Basu, secretary at India¡¯s Department of Atomic Energy. If completed, the deal is seen deepening ties between Asia¡¯s second- and third-largest economies while China seeks to expand its regional influence through the export of its own domestically-designed reactors.
India¡¯s nuclear power market is estimated at $150 billion and the country aims to boost energy generated from atomic plants to a quarter of the total by 2050 from about 3.5 percent now, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The pact could benefit Japanese nuclear-component makers including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Hitachi Ltd. that face shrinking business prospects after the 2011 Fukushima disaster led to the shutdown of the country¡¯s reactor fleet for safety checks.
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