Nine contracts have been signed for the construction of units 1&2 of China’s Bailong NPP in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research & Design Institute (SNERDI).
The contracts were awarded by Guangxi Nuclear Power Company Ltd to SNERDI, both subsidiaries of the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC). They included the general contracting contract for both units, the main project construction supervision service contract, the marine engineering special general contracting framework agreement, the nuclear island civil engineering and installation contract, and the conventional island and its balance of plant construction and installation contract.
The first phase of the station will consist of two units with CAP-1000 pressurised water reactors while four larger CAP-1400 reactors will be selected for later phases. China’s State Council approved construction of Phase I (units 1&2) in August 2023, which will cost of CNY40bn ($5.6bn). Construction is expected to take 56 months.
Excavation of about 66,000 cubic metres of earth to form the foundation pit began in late December and is expected to be completed by the end of this month. The pit will eventually be 12.2 metres deep and cover an area of about 3,000 square metres.
Once Bailong units 1 and 2 are put into operation, the annual power generation of the plant will be about 20 TWh, Guangxi Nuclear Power said. This will reduce the annual consumption of standard coal by about 6m tonnes and carbon dioxide emissions by about 16m tonnes.
