Construction of China's Largest Nuclear Power Project Officially Started in Guangdong Province

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Construction of Yangjiang Nuclear Power Project, the largest nuclear power project in China, was officially started in southern China's Guangdong province on December 16, 2008. Yang Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee; Huahua Huang, Governor of Guangdong Province; Guobao Zhang, Vice Director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Director of the National Energy Administration; and other leaders and representatives from related departments of the state and the Guangdong province attended the ceremony, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation (CGNPC) (Shenzhen) announced on the same day.

Yangjiang Nuclear Power Project is located on the western coast of southern China's Guangdong province. The project will be furnished with six 1000-megawatt nuclear power units successively based on CPR1000, an improved pressurized water reactor technology developed independently by CGNPC. The project is the first nuclear power project to receive approval at one time based on the total planned site capacity in the history of nuclear power construction in China. The plant is also the largest nuclear power project both in the number of units and the total capacity that has ever received approval from the NDRC at once.

According to the approval of the NDRC, the project will be built and invested by CGNPC with a total investment of nearly $10.2 billion. Major equipment required for the project will be developed and manufactured by Chinese enterprises. Yangjiang Nuclear Power Company Limited (YNPC) (Yangjiang, Guangdong), a subsidiary of CPNGC, will be responsible for the operation management of the project.

In order to accelerate the construction of the project, pit excavation for the nuclear island of the project was started in September 2007. In September 2008, YNPC, China Nuclear Power Engineering Company Limited (Shenzhen) and China Nuclear Power Design Company Limited (Shenzhen) signed the general contract for the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Project in Shenzhen. Major contracts for the project have been awarded. According to the schedule, the first unit of the project will begin operation in 2013. Upon completion, the comprehensive localization rate of the project will reach 83%, and the annual power output of the project will reach 45 billion kilowatt-hours. Construction of the project will further improve the nuclear power construction level in China, promoting industrial upgrades, as well as the economic development in Guangdong, said CGNPC in its announcement.

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