Experts said the move marks the beginning of the project's equipment installment from civil engineers.

The first phase of the Tianwan Nuclear Power Station has two nuclear power generating units with a designed capacity of 1.06 million kilowatts.

Chen Zhaobo, chairman of the board of the Jiangsu Nuclear Power Co., said the Tianwan project has been going smoothly with the support of the Chinese and Russian governments.

Speaking during his trip to the port city, Russian Nuclear Power Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said Russia attaches great importance to the construction of the nuclear power plant, and hopes to explore more opportunities for cooperation between the two countries on nuclear energy.

The new station, the largest cooperative project between the two countries, is designed in strict compliance with the latest safety regulations and norms from the International Atomic Energy Agency and also takes into account the experience of Russia and other Western countries in building and operating nuclear power stations.

Key technology used for it has been modeled after that of nuclear power stations in Russia and other countries.

Ouyang Yu, chief engineer of the Jiangsu Nuclear Power Co., said the new station will have four Russia-made pressurized water reactors, each with a generating capacity of one million kilowatts.

Siemens digital instrumentation and control systems, believed to be the most advanced in the world, will be adopted to ensure the sound, smooth operation of the nuclear station.

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2001)