Chennai, June 18 (IANS): Russia’s integrated nuclear power major Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation on Tuesday said the first batch of pipeline valves for the two upcoming plants in Tamil Nadu has been shipped.

It said that 26 pieces of equipment with a total weight of about 27.5 tons were shipped to the plant construction site at Tamil Nadu's Kudankulam.

The pipeline valves are for the under-construction Units 5 and 6. High-pressure and low-pressure gate valves are designed for installation in the turbine hall of a nuclear power plant and their key function is a tight shut-off of the fluid or gas flow to ensure reliable operation of the system.

The equipment will be transported from the production site to St Petersburg by road and from there, the equipment will be sent to Kudankulam via sea.

India's atomic power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has two functional 1,000 MW plants (Units 1 and 2) at Kudankulam, while four more similar plants (Units 3, 4, 5 and 6) are under construction. All six units are built with Russian technology and equipment supplied by Rosatom. Major equipment for building the third and fourth units has reached Kudankulam from Russia.

Rosatom is also providing fuel to the nuclear power units in Kudankulam throughout their entire life cycle.