China ‘actively promoting’ nuclear fuel processing plant with French Areva
- Commercial negotiations nearly complete for project which led to street protests over location in 2016
- Announcement made at briefing to launch China’s first white paper on nuclear safety
China and French firm Areva are continuing with a nuclear fuel reprocessing project, with commercial negotiations nearing their end, according to the head of the Chinese National Nuclear Safety Administration.
Liu Ha said on Tuesday that about five plants in total were planned for the disposal of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, and both self-built facilities and the French cooperation project were all in the process of active promotion.
“The commercial negotiations are almost near the end. I believe in the near future, the two countries will have even further progress on the nuclear fuel reprocessing project,” Liu said.
Liu said the five plants would be located in provinces which already had nuclear facilities. The US$12 billion Areva project has been subject to repeated delays, most recently in 2016 when a proposed site at Lianyungang, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, was cancelled after thousands of residents took to the streets in protest.
“The process of choosing sites might need more active communication with the local government and local residents,” he said.