Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday dedicated to the nation a 100-tonne annual capacity reprocessing plant at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Tarapur which will use spent fuel from indigenous nuclear power plants for fast breeder reactors.

Congratulating engineers and scientists for constructing the sophisticated complex in the coastal region in Thane district of Maharashtra, Dr. Singh said the reprocessing plant was essential for the country’s closed-fuel-cycle three-stage nuclear programme.

“The spent fuel reprocessing plant is a milestone in India’s three-stage nuclear programme,” he said.

The plant is also essential for the transition from the first stage to the second (of the programme) for building fast breeder reactors to produce sustainable and clean energy for the country, Dr. Singh said.

“Tarapur itself will set an example of clean, economic and safe energy that our nation requires,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the reprocessing plant is also essential for subsequent thorium utilisation.

He said the capabilities of the engineers and scientists could be utilised in new opportunities in international cooperation in nuclear energy.