Contract for nuclear islands of Xudabao Phase I

A contract has been signed for the civil construction of the nuclear islands for units 1 and 2 of the Xudabao nuclear power plant in China's Liaoning province. The units are the first of six AP1000 reactors planned for the site.

A contract has been signed for the civil construction of the nuclear islands for units 1 and 2 of the Xudabao nuclear power plant in China's Liaoning province. The units are the first of six AP1000 reactors planned for the site.

The signing of the contract (Image: CNECC)

The contract was signed on 10 October by China Nuclear Industry 22 Construction Company (CNI22) general manager Zheng Xiaojun and China Nuclear Power Engineering Company (CNPEC) general manager Liu Wei. CNI22 is a subsidiary of China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corporation (CNECC), while CNPEC is a subsidiary of China General Nuclear.

The signing ceremony was attended by CNECC chief engineer and vice president Huo Lin Zhuang; director of CNECC's nuclear engineering division Yang Zhenhua; and, CNI22 deputy general manager Yang Zhenxun, among others.

China's National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) announced its approval of the site selection for Xudabao units 1 and 2 - the first two of six AP1000 units planned there - in April 2014. It said the site, in Xingcheng City on the island of Hulu, would meet site-related aspects of nuclear safety regulations. Final approval was reported in September 2014, and again in December 2015 by the NNSA.

Site preparation at Xudabao began in November 2010. The National Development and Reform Commission gave its approval for the project in January 2011. However, following the Fukushima accident two months later, Chinese authorities suspended the approval process for new plants. In October 2012 China announced that approvals for inland plants would be delayed until after 2015.

Parts that had been intended for the Taohuajiang plant in Hunan province - where four AP1000 units are planned - were subsequently earmarked for Xudabao. Manufacture of the steel containments for the first two Xudabao units was launched in July 2013 by Shandong Nuclear Power Equipment Manufacturing Co Ltd.

China National Nuclear Corporation subsidiary Liaoning Nuclear Power Company Limited - set up in March 2009 - is majority owner of the plant, with China Datang holding a 20% stake and the State Development and Investment Corporation holding 10%. CNPEC is the general contractor for the Xudabao project, expected to cost some CNY 110 billion ($16 billion).

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News