Firm pushes ahead with nuclear power plant in Guangdong's last forest reserve

China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group opened the project office for its new 50 billion yuan (HK$56.7 billion) nuclear power plant in Shaoguan, northern Guangdong, on Saturday.

The move officially ends a debate on whether a nuclear power plant should be built in the province's last remaining national forest reserve.

According to a statement on the company's website, the plant would have four pressurised water reactors each capable of producing 1,000MW of electricity per year. Industry sources said that unlike the third-generation power plant under construction in Yangjiang, the Shaoguan reactors would use the nation's second-generation technology to save costs.

The plant is at the upper reaches of the Bei River, which runs through the biggest forest in Guangdong and provides drinking water for the Pearl River Delta.