The AP1000 is a nuclear power plant designed and sold by Westinghouse Electric Company, the plant is a pressurized water reactor with improved use of passive nuclear safety. India and US have been in talks over this project from the time of previous US President Barack Obama. According to a joint statement by Modi and Obama in 2015, both sides had resolved to work towards “finalising the contractual agreement by June 2017”.
Westinghouse, was acquired by Japanese conglomerate Toshiba in 2006 for $5.4 billion and now it has filed for a bankruptcy in March, this being the major reason for the delay in moving forward with the proposed project to set six reactors by Westinghouse in Andhra Pradesh. As per the initial plan, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Westinghouse were scheduled to conclude a techno-commercial pact for the proposed plant in June this year.
It is expected that the two leaders, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump are likely to bring up the issue during their meeting.
Narendra Modi is on a four day tour to three nations, with his second stop at the US.
Top Westinghouse officials who visited India twice since March had indicated that they would wait to resolve the bankruptcy issue before moving forward with the project. However, the absence of Toshiba due to the financial crisis may complicate the issue.