Construction of two VVER-1000 units at Tianwan is keeping close to schedule for completion in 2004 and 2005, according to Russian officials. However, other sources said that there are some questions about whether some subcontractors, who have not seen the results of detailed pipework engineering can supply qualified equipment and finish their work on time.

An Atomenergoexport official said that construction is currently only three weeks behind schedule.

In related news, Russia’s JSC Electrosila has announced that it has shipped parts of a 1000MWe turbine generator to Tianwan. Electrosila said that the turbine generator had been tested in near-real conditions, and that it had been inspected by both Russian and Chinese technical commissions. Electrosila also said that the output of the turbine generator had been increased to 1065MWe at the special request of the Chinese customer.