MOSCOW, August 3The nuclear reactor vessel for power unit No. 7 of the Tianwan NPP, which is being built in China with the participation of Russia, was delivered from the Russian Federation to the construction site, the press service of the managing company of the engineering division of the state corporation Rosatom, JSC Atomstroyexport, said on Thursday.
«The reactor pressure vessel, manufactured in Russia for the seventh unit, arrived at the construction site today and after all the necessary production and control procedures will be installed in the design position,» said Aleksey, Vice President for Projects in China and Advanced Projects of Atomstroyexport Bannik, whose words are given in the message.
The VVER-1200 reactor vessel, weighing 334.2 tons and 12 meters long, will undergo an incoming inspection in accordance with the regulatory requirements before installation . A day earlier, other equipment of the reactor plant was also delivered to the facility, including four steam generators and three casings of the main circulation pump unit.
The reactor vessel was manufactured at the enterprise of the Rosatom machine-building division of the Atommash plant (Volgodonsk, Rostov Region).
Tianwan NPP is the largest project of economic cooperation between Russia and China.
The first two power units of the plant with VVER-1000 reactors were built by Russian specialists and have been in commercial operation since 2007. In 2010, Rosatom and the China Nuclear Industry Corporation signed a general contract for the construction of the second stage of the station (power units No. 3 and 4). In 2018, the stage of commissioning the power units of the second stage was successfully completed.
In March 2019, the ceremony of signing the general contract for the construction of new units of the fourth stage at the site of the Tianwan NPP with a capacity of 1200 MW each (units Nos. 7 and 8) was held in Beijing. Under this project, an intergovernmental protocol and a framework contract for the construction of the most modern VVER-1200 reactors of the «3+» generation were signed. In accordance with the documents, the Russian side will design the so-called nuclear island of the station, and will also supply key nuclear island equipment for both units. The VVER-1200 project is distinguished by increased safety and reliability. The commissioning of new units is scheduled for 2026-2027.