Adani Enterprises—controlled by Indian port-to-power billionaire Gautam Adani—said it will build a nuclear power plant to help achieve energy security in the world’s most populous country.
Speaking at his flagship company’s shareholders meeting on Wednesday, Adani said the group will enter nuclear power generation through a unit called Adani Atomic Energy. It has already identified a site for the project and aims to build up to 10 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity by 2035.
While the tycoon didn’t disclose how much he plans to invest in the nuclear project, Adani said Adani Power will invest 2 trillion rupees ($21.1 billion) over the next five years to more than double its power generation capacity to 45 gigawatts, from about 18 gigawatts currently.
“Our entry into nuclear energy through Adani Atomic Energy is another confident step towards securing India’s long term energy future,” Adani said. “We are positioning ourselves early to serve the growing national demand for clean, round-the-clock power.”
Adani has already taken steps toward entering the nuclear power sector. Last year, the group was reportedly in talks with the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh to build a commercial nuclear power plant. If the project moves forward, Adani would become the first major private company to operate in the sector.
India last year opened its nuclear generation sector to domestic and foreign firms in the private sector. It aims to expand nuclear capacity to 22 gigawatts by 2032 from almost 9 gigawatts at present. Nuclear power currently contributes 3% to India’s power generation.
With an estimated net worth of $89.1 billion based on Forbes’ real-time data, Adani is among the wealthiest in India. He is the chairman of the Ahmedabad-based Adani Group, which has interests in airports, cement manufacturing, energy, logistics, media, mining, ports and real estate.
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