Contracts signed for first two Bailong units

Tuesday, 11 March 2025

The contracts - signed during an ceremony held on 9 March - included the general contracting contract for the units, the main project construction supervision service contract, the marine engineering special general contracting framework agreement, the nuclear island civil engineering and installation contract, and the conventional island and its BOP [balance of plant] construction and installation contract.

The contracts were awarded by Guangxi Nuclear Power Company Ltd - a subsidiary of State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) - to the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (SNERDI) - also a subsidiary of SPIC.

The construction of Phase I (units 1 and 2) of the Bailong plant was among approvals for 11 new reactors granted by China's State Council in August last year. SPIC plans to build two CAP1000 pressurised water reactors - the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000 - as the first phase of the plant. An investment of about CNY40 billion (USD5.6 billion) is planned for the two units, which are expected to take 56 months to construct.

Excavation of about 66,000 cubic metres of earth to form the foundation pit - which will eventually be 12.2 metres deep and cover an area of about 3000 square metres - began in late December and is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

Once Bailong units 1 and 2 are put into operation, the annual power generation of the plant will be about 20 billion kilowatt-hours, Guangxi Nuclear Power said. It noted that this can reduce the consumption of standard coal by about 6 million tonnes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 16 million tonnes annually.

Four CAP1400 reactors are also planned to be built at the site - located about 24 kilometres from the border with Vietnam and about 30 kilometres southwest of China General Nuclear's Fangchenggang nuclear power plant - in later phases.