China will build 40 nuclear power generation units with a combined maximum capacity of 40 million kilowatts in coming 15 years, according to the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (CSTIND).

"Nuclear power will play increasing important role in the development of China's power industry," said Zhang Fubao, deputy director of the system engineering department under the CSTIND, at a symposium on nuclear power market and technology in China, opened Wednesday in Shanghai, China's leading industrial center.

China is examining and approving the second phase expansion of the Ling'ao Nuclear Power Plant in south China's Guangdong Province and the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Zhejiang Province as well as construction of the Yangjiang and Sanmen nuclear power plants in Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces.

China is taking steps to increase the proportion of nuclear power in its overall energy supply and make it an important element of energy development in future, Zhang said. "Nuclear power will become the pillar of energy supply in coastal areas of east China. By 2020, the generating capacity of China's nuclear power sector is to reach 40 million kw, accounting for four percent of the total installed power generating capacity in the country," he said.

The country's nuclear power sector produced 50.4 billion kwh of electricity last year, making up 2.3 percent of the total national electric power production.

The symposium coincides with the opening of the China International Exhibition on Nuclear Power Industry, which attracted 130 enterprises and research institutes from more than countries and regions.

(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2005)