CHENNAI: The reactor for India's nuclear-powered submarine project at Kalpakkam, near here, is working smoothly at its full capacity of 100 MWe, informed sources said.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee inspected the project on July 18 while taking part in the 20th anniversary celebrations of the commissioning of the Fast Breeder Test Reactor there.

The project is called the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) programme.

The sources said the reactor, which went critical towards the end of 2004, was fully operational now.

A miniaturised version of the reactor would be built and fitted into the submarine.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the ATV facility on October 23, 2004, when he launched the construction of the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) there.

Substantial progress has also been made in building the submarine's hull at Visakhapatnam, the sources said.

The ATV is a joint project of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), the Navy and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The ATV has facilities at BARC in Mumbai, Kalpakkam, and Visakhapatnam.

The mood is upbeat in these facilities about the progress made.

The fuel for the reactor, which is highly enriched uranium, comes from the Rare Materials Project near Ratnahalli, near Mysore.

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