The nation's largest 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 power project cooperation between CNNC and a state-owned power major whose core business is not nuclear power development, CNNC said.

The two state-owned electricity generation giants yesterday signed a framework agreement for the construction of the new nuclear facility, which could house 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 Guidelines (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 program," said CNNC in a statement yesterday.

According to the agreement, the two Beijing-based conglomerates will create a joint-venture company with CNNC the majority shareholder of the project and responsible for construction and operation of the plant. As partner, the Huadian Group will participate in decision-making and project management.

A CNNC company official yesterday told China Daily this agreement is only the beginning 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," said the official.

Technology for the new plant will be proceed through international bidding allowing the two firms to choose between Chinese and foreign technologies, said another company source yesterday.

"The coming together of the two companies is the beginning of long-term cooperation in the energy sector and helps to fuel the country's fast-growing economy," said Kang Rixin, president of CNNC, at yesterday's signing.

Kang said CNNC's wide experience in building nuclear reactors would combine well with Huadian's strong expertise in power project management resulting in the partnership being a "win-win" situation forth both.

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

Meanwhile, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. Ltd., have signed a cooperation agreement on another nuclear power plant with the Shaoguan municipal government.

The project's power generating capacity is unknown but costs have been put at 100 billion yuan (US$12.5 billion) with an estimated production value of 10 billion yuan (US$1.25 billion), said Xu Jianhua, mayor of Shaoguan.

Encouraged by the central government, Guangdong plans to expand its nuclear power plant development from the coastal regions to freshwater areas in the north.

The two nuclear plants at Daya Bay and Ling'ao, both in Guangdong, generated 203.45 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity by January of this year. Of that figure, 156.4 billion kwh electricity was generated by the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant with 106.16 billion kwh being sold to neighboring Hong Kong.

China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. Ltd., founded in September 1994 at a cost of 10.2 billion yuan (about US$1.26 billion) exercises control over four nuclear power generating units at Daya Bay and Ling'ao plants -- two at each location. The four units have a combined installed capacity of approximately 4 million kw. It has been building four more nuclear power generating units at Ling'ao which is close to the Daya Bay power plant.

China plans to build as many as 32 more nuclear reactors within the next 15 years supplying six percent of the country's power demand -- it currently sits at two percent.

(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2006)