Contracts have been signed between China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, including for the construction of units 7 and 8 at the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu province.

The signing of the contracts in Shanghai yesterday (Image: CNNC)

CNNC said the contracts, which were signed yesterday at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, marked the implementation of framework contracts signed on 8 June between Russia and China in Beijing. Those agreements included the construction of two VVER-1200 reactors as units 7 and 8 of the Tianwan plant, as well as two VVER-1200 units are to be built at the new Xudabao site in Liaoning province.

Rosatom said its engineering division, AtomStroyExport, yesterday signed four executive contracts with CNNC enterprises for the construction of Tianwan 7 and 8. No details of the contracts were disclosed.

Tianwan Phase I - units 1 and 2 - was constructed under a 1992 cooperation agreement between the two countries. First concrete was poured in October 1999, and the units were commissioned in June 2007 and September 2007, respectively.

Tianwan Phase II - units 3 and 4 - are similar to the first stage of the Tianwan plant, comprising two AES-91 VVER-1000 units designed by Gidropress and supplied by Rosatom. First concrete for unit 3 was poured in December 2012, while construction of the fourth unit began in September 2013. Unit 3 entered commercial operation in February this year, with unit 4 was connected to the grid late last month.

Construction of Tianwan Phase III - units 5 and 6 - was originally scheduled to start in early 2011. However, following the March 2011 accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant, the Chinese government suspended the approval of new nuclear power projects, including those two units.

The latest Five-Year Plan called for construction of Phase III of the Tianwan plant to be accelerated. China's State Council gave its approval for Tianwan units 5 and 6 - both featuring 1080 MWe ACPR1000 reactors - on 16 December 2015. First safety-related concrete was poured for unit 5 on 27 December 2015, with that for unit 6 poured on 7 September 2016. CNNC plans to put both units 5 and 6 into commercial operation by the end of 2021.

Executive contracts were also signed yesterday between Rosatom subsidiary Afrikantov OKBM and CNNC enterprises for the implementation of China's demonstration 600 MWe fast reactor project at Xiapu, Fujian province. The contracts involve the supply of equipment and services, the provision of licences for the right to use software, and services for the examination of documentation.

First concrete for the CFR-600 sodium-cooled pool-type fast reactor was poured in December 2017. The reactor is scheduled to begin commercial operation by 2023.