Sanmen nuclear unit online this year

Officials say landmark project in Zhejiang is firmly on track

The world's first unit using Westinghouse Electric Company LLC's AP1000 nuclear reactor design is expected to be online this year in China, with a second unit operational by June next year, nuclear officials said on Wednesday.

Wang Jun, chief engineer of State Power Investment Corp, said if everything goes smoothly, the Sanmen one unit in Zhejiang province will be operating in 2016, while cold testing at Haiyang nuclear power plant in Shandong province will start in June, which will be connected to the grid in February next year.