Construction began Thursday on the country's first 1,000 megawatt-level, domestically-built nuclear power plant in Shenzhen, a city in south China's Guangdong Province.

The cornerstone-laying ceremony for the second phase of Ling'ao Nuclear Power Plant or Ling'ao II was led by Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan and Zhang Dejiang, secretary of Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Ling'ao II project will have two generating units, each with an installed capacity of 1,000 megawatts. The first unit is scheduled to start operation in December 2010 and the second in August 2011, said sources from China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. Ltd. (CGNPC).

On completion, the two generating units will generate a total of 150 billion kilowatt hours of electricity each year.

Ling'ao II is based on pressurized water reactor technology with improvement from Chinese scientists. CGNPC spent over 20 years to develop the technology imported from France.

Ling'ao II, one of the key projects included into the state's 10th five-year plan period (2001-2005), is the third commercial nuke power plant in Guangdong, where the country's first nuke power plant -- Daya Bay nuclear power plant --began construction in 1991.

The new plant will be adjacent to the site of Daya Bay nuclear power plant. Ling'ao I project began commercial operation in 2003, with two 990-megawatt generating units.

The nine nuclear generation units in operation include four in Daya Bay and Ling Ao Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong and five in Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in east China's Zhejiang Province.

The other two units are under construction in Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant of Jiangsu Province, east China.

Guangdong is also expediting preparation for construction of another nuke power plant in Yangjiang, a coastal city. Construction of the nuclear reactor of that plant will officially begin by the end of 2006, said CGNPC sources.

China plans to increase its installed capacity of nuclear power to 40 million kw by the year 2020, accounting for 4 percent of the country's total installed capacity at that time.

(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2005)