China will help build Argentina’s fourth nuclear power plant following an agreement signed last week by Argentinian government officials in Beijing.
The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) will pour $2 billion into technical support and logistics to build Atucha III, the Argentine government announced.
Two of Argentina’s three current plants, Atucha and Atucha II (pictured), are located near Buenos Aires while a third, Embalse, is in Cordoba province.
Argentina largely depends on natural gas and oil for its energy needs. Nuclear power only accounts for about 10 percent of electricity production.
The government did not specify how much power the new plant will generate.
On a visit to Argentina in July, Chinese president Xi Jinping signed more than 20 agreements with his opposite number, president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Altogether, the China Development Bank is to provide $7.5bn in loans to fund infrastructure.
Currently Argentina has little access to global capital markets because of disputes over its existing debt.
