Ningde 4 vessel delivered

Tuesday, 11 February 2014

The reactor pressure vessel for unit 4 of the Ningde plant has been delivered to the construction site in China's Fujian province. The reactor is due to start up next year.

Having been unloaded from the ship, the vessel was placed on a trailer for transporting it to Ningde 4 (Image: CGN)

The 262-tonne vessel - manufactured by China First Heavy Industries - was delivered by ship to the Ningde site on 7 February.

Work on the nuclear island at Ningde 4 officially began in September 2010. The dome of its reactor building was successfully lowered into place in May 2012. Work to install the main equipment of the unit - including the pressure vessel, steam generators and main pump equipment - is soon to begin.

Four Chinese-designed CPR-1000 pressurized water reactors are currently under construction at the Ningde site, near Fuding city. Work on the first Ningde unit started in February 2008, with construction of units 2 and 3 beginning in November 2008 and January 2010, respectively. Unit 1 began commercial operation in April 2013, while unit 2 began supplying electricity to the grid last month. Unit 3 is slated to come online later this year and unit 4 to follow in 2015.

The Ningde plant is 46% owned by China General Nuclear (CGN) and 44% by China Datang Corporation. The remaining 10% is held by Fujian Provincial Energy Group. The construction of two further CPR-1000 reactors is planned for Phase II of the plant.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News