China postpones decision on nuclear station bids

BEIJING, December 2 (RIA Novosti, Alexei Yefimov) - The general contractor for the Russian Federal Nuclear Power Agency for the construction and modernization of nuclear power plants abroad, Atomstroiexport, will likely have to wait for a decision on its bid for construction of nuclear power plants in China until next year.

Atomstroiexport, in which Russia's energy giant Gazprom has a 53.85% majority stake, has placed its bid along with France's Areva and the U.S. company Westinghouse on a CNNC-originated tender for construction of four 1,000-megawatt reactors, two in the city of Sanmen in the Zhejiang province and two in Yangjiang in the Guangdong province.

The China Daily cited Friday the China National Nuclear Corporation Director Chen Hua as saying that the decision will be most likely made in mid 2006.

"Negotiations are unlikely to be completed by year's end," the paper quoted Chen Hua as saying.

Chen Hua said the CNNC was not satisfied with proposals made by various companies in terms of cost, engineering project and safety. He said the winning bid would most likely come from either Areva or Westinghouse.

Nineteen reactors are currently operational or under construction in China, with Atomstroiexport building the first and second units of the Tianwan NPP in Lianyungang in the Jiangsu province.