China has signed a $1.7bn deal with Russian nuclear engineer Rosatom for two VVER-1200 reactors for its Xudabao nuclear power plant in Liaoning province in the northeast of the country.
The deal was signed in Moscow in the presence of presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping by Rosatom’s engineering subsidiary ASE and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
Alexey Likhachov, general director of Rosatom, said: "Today, we have moved a Russian-designed nuclear power construction project on a new site to the practical stage of its implementation. Taking into account the previously signed contract for the Tianwan, together with our Сhinese partners we will build four of the latest Generation 3-plus power units by 2028."
The contract to install two VVER pressurised water reactors at Tianwan NPP was signed in March this year. The plant already has four Chinese reactors in operation.
The Xudabao project, which is being built by CNNC, was originally to have used six of China’s CAP1000 reactors. Work is under way on two of these, but the next two to be installed will be Russian. Work on Xudabao is expected to commence in 2021.
Rosatom expects to commission its Tianwan by 2027 and its Xudabao units by 2028.
Image: Work under way on the Tianwan nuclear project (风之清扬/CC BY-SA 3.0)
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