Mumbai: European banks that were part of a consortium interested in the proposed 10,000 MW Jaitapur nuclear park in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, are now under pressure to reconsider their financing plan following Japan's nuclear crisis, according to Greenpeace.
While confirming that the top two banks in Germany, Deutsche Bank and Commerz Bank had decided to cancel their participation in the Jaitapur project, Greenpeace's Nuclear Energy Campaigner, Karuna Raina, said at a press conference yesterday: "Early this year, India's Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL) invited over a dozen large banks from around the world to participate in financing the Jaitapur project. Greenpeace wrote to eight banks and of them, BNP Paribas and HSBC have said they would like to review their investment."
Grave concern
The fact that Jaitapur is located on a seismic zone is of grave concern to banks, she added. According to a document received from the Geological Survey of India, the project is located on a seismic zone 4 with zone 5 being the highest.
