Huge nuclear plant construction restarts

China has resumed construction on a "fourth generation" nuclear power plant, suspended after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, which will be its biggest-ever nuclear facility.

Construction on the coastal Shidao Bay nuclear plant in the city of Rongcheng, in East China's Shandong Province, resumed last month, the Economic Observer paper reported.

The plant, which will be cooled by high temperature gas, will become "the world's first successfully commercialized fourth generation nuclear technology demonstration project," the report said.

The plant is a joint investment by the China Huaneng Group, China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corp and Tsinghua University, and it is designed to be safer and cuts down on costs, the report quoted a spokesman from the China Huaneng Group, the biggest investor in the plant, as saying. The plant, expected to begin supplying electricity to the grid by 2017, will have a final generating capacity of 6,600 megawatts, the report said, adding initial investment in the project will be 3 billion yuan ($480 million).

The Shidao Bay plant "has been developed and designed solely by Chinese researchers," said China Radio International, quoting a China Huaneng Group researcher as saying the company hopes to export the design.

The plant is important for China to turn from a nuclear power technology-importing country into one that exports technology and equipment, Zhang Zuoyi, dean of Tsinghua University's Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, told the Economic Observer. It will lead to an improved status for Chinese firms in the global nuclear industry, he said.

China lifted a ban in October on new nuclear power stations, originally stalled after the meltdowns of the three reactors in Fukushima, Japan in March 2011 after the facility there was struck by a tsunami. Construction on the Shidao Bay plant began in 2011 but was suspended in the wake of the Fukushima crisis.

The country will allow construction of a "small number" of coastal nuclear power plants, said the State Council.

The central government drafted a $12 billion plan in October to boost safety in the nuclear industry.

The State Council also highlighted safety as the top priority in planning, constructing and operating nuclear plants and related industries.

Global Times - Agencies