The nation's biggest nuclear reactor builder, China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC), will join with one of the country's top five power majors, China Huadian Group, to build a nuclear power plant in East China's Fujian Province.

It is the first nuclear project co-operation between China Nuclear and a State-owned power major whose core business is not nuclear power development, China Nuclear said.

The two State-owned electricity generation giants yesterday signed a framework agreement for the construction of the new nuclear facility, which could sit as many as six 1,000-megawatt (MW) reactors.

The new nuclear plant will be located in Hui'an, in the southeast part of the province near Quanzhou.

"The Hui'an nuclear project has been included in China's 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) (a national blueprint in which China's key projects are scheduled), and the signing of the framework agreement represents the official start-up of the nuclear programme," CNNC said in a statement yesterday.

According to the agreement, the two Beijing-based conglomerates will create a joint-venture company for the plant.

China Nuclear will be the majority shareholder of the project, and is responsible for constructing and operating the plant. China Huadian will be the second owner, participating in decision-making and project management.

A CNNC company official yesterday told China Daily that the agreement signed yesterday is only the start of their partnership.

"Further details such as specific shares, total investment as well as the size of the plant in the initial phase will be discussed in further talks," the official said.

Technology for the new plant will be decided through international bidding, which means the two firms can choose between Chinese or foreign technologies, another company source yesterday said.

"The coming together of the two companies is the beginning of our long-term co-operation in the energy sector, fuelling the country's fast-growing economy," Kang Rixin, president of China Nuclear, said at the signing ceremony yesterday.

Kang said China Nuclear's rich experience in building nuclear reactors will combine with Huadian's strong expertise in power project management, making the partnership a "win-win" deal.

By the end of last year, China Huadian boasted a total installed power-generating capacity of 38.81 gigawatts (GW), Huadian's president He Gong said.

As much as 80.9 per cent of Huadian's power facilities are coal-fired, the remaining hydropower.

The company plans to increase the capacity to 60 GW within the next five years and to 100 GW by 2020, Huadian said on its website.

Only two companies, China Nuclear and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group, are authorized to build nuclear plants in China. But other power firms such as Huadian and China Power Investment Corp are also striving to gain a share in the huge market, by taking a stake in partnerships with the two nuclear builders.

China plans to build as many as 32 more nuclear reactors within the next 15 years, supplying 6 per cent of the country's total power demand, China Nuclear's Kang said. Currently the proportion is about 2 per cent.

Source: China Daily