China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group signed contracts Wednesday with Chinese nuclear plant designers and equipment manufacturers to build the Lingao II project, the country's first 1,000 megawatt-level, domestic-built nuclear power plant.

Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan attended the ceremony in Beijing and said he hoped Chinese companies will work hard to localize the design and manufacture of nuclear power plants on basis of active cooperation with foreign partners.

Lingao II nuclear power station will be the third commercial nuclear power plant in South China's Guangdong Province, where China's first Daya Bay nuclear power plant began operation in 1991.

Construction will begin at the station, which has two 1,000 megawatt reactors, this December. The plant will be operational in 2010 and 2011.

China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group currently operates the Daya Bay nuclear plant and Lingao I nuclear plant, with total installed capacity of 4,000 megawatts. The plants are mainly designed and constructed by foreign companies.

Unlike the former two plants, Chinese companies will take a major role in the construction of Lingao II, according to Qian Zhimin, head of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group.

Qian said that the construction of Lingao II will help China acquire the capacity to design and manufacture 1,000 megawatt-level nuclear power equipment.

China is planning to boost nuclear power development to meet the country's surging demand for electricity. The issue has become more urgent as the energy-hungry eastern provinces suffer increasingly severe power shortages.

China now operates nine nuclear power plants with a total installed capacity of 7,000 megawatts, about 1.8 percent of the country's total installed power generating capacity.

According to government plans, a total of 32 new 1,000 megawatt reactors are expected to be brought on line by 2020.

(Xinhua News Agency March 17, 2005)