Work starts on Fuqing 6 turbine building

First concrete has been poured for the conventional island of Fuqing 6 - the second Hualong One unit under construction at the site in China's Fujian province. Both Hualong One units currently under construction at Fuqing should be in operation by 2020.

First concrete has been poured for the conventional island of Fuqing 6 - the second Hualong One unit under construction at the site in China's Fujian province. Both Hualong One units currently under construction at Fuqing should be in operation by 2020.

Concrete is poured for Fuqing 6's conventional island (Image: CNNC)

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced today that the first concrete for the turbine building was poured on 24 August, seven days ahead of schedule.

A total of 4860 cubic metres of concrete was expected to be poured over the following 48 hours, CNNC said.

In November 2014, CNNC announced the fifth and sixth units at Fuqing will use the domestically-developed Hualong One reactor design, marking its first deployment. The company had previously expected to use the ACP1000 design for those units, but plans were revised in line with a re-organisation of the Chinese nuclear industry. China's State Council gave final approval for construction of Fuqing units 5 and 6 in mid-April.

The pouring of first concrete for the reactor basemats for Fuqing 5 and 6 - marking the official start of construction of the units - took place in May and December 2015, respectively.

Construction is progressing on the nuclear island of Fuqing 6. In May, the first steel lining module for the unit's containment building was installed.

Fuqing 5 and 6 are scheduled to be completed in 2019 and 2020.

Construction of two Hualong One units is also under way at China General Nuclear's Fangchenggang plant in Guangxi province.

In March, Hualong International Nuclear Power Technology - a joint venture between CGN and CNNC to promote the Hualong One reactor design in export markets - was officially inaugurated.

Although it is still officially listed as being ACP1000, Pakistan's Karachi Coastal Power station is likely to be the first export of Hualong One units.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News