The Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (SNERDI), a subsidiary of the Chinese group SPIC, has announced that a total of nine major contracts have been signed for the construction of units 1 and 2 of the Bailong nuclear power plant, located in the Guangxi autonomous region (southern China). The contracts notably included the general contracting contract for the units, the main project construction supervision service contract, the marine engineering special general contracting framework agreement, and the nuclear island civil engineering and installation contract.
Phase one of the Bailong nuclear plant project, which includes units 1 and 2, was approved by China’s State Council in August 2024. The two units will be CAP-1000 reactors, the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP-1000 reactor. SPIC plans an investment of CNY40bn (US$5.6bn) to build the two units, which are expected be completed around 2030.
At the end of 2023, China’s nuclear capacity reached 56.9 GW (with 56 operational reactors) and its nuclear power generation reached nearly 435 TWh (around 5% of the power mix). China targets 200 GW of nuclear capacity by 2035.