China started building today a nuclear power plant in East China's Fujian Province, the China Central Television reported.
Phase I of the Ningde plant, the first nuclear plant in the province, will have four reactors with 1 gigawatt (GW) of generating capacity each. The project will involve investment of 51.2 billion yuan ($7.13 billion), it said.
Subsequent phases will cost around 450 billion yuan.
Investors in the plant include Guangdong Nuclear Power Investment Co, Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd and Fujian Coal Group, it said.
The first reactor is expected to enter operation in 2012 and the remainder will enter service in each of the following three years.
Annual on-grid electricity is expected to reach 30 billion kWh, it noted.