Analysts believe that the platform, once accomplished, could significantly boost the efficiency of the country’s construction work on islands in the South China Sea. In a phone interview with the Global Times on Thursday, Liu Zhengguo, director of the general office of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), China’s leading shipbuilding group in charge of designing and assembling the platforms, said the company is "pushing forward the work."
"The development of nuclear power platforms is a burgeoning trend," Liu said, when asked to comment on a previous media report that China plans to build 20 maritime nuclear power platforms.
"The exact number of plants to be built [by CSIC] depends on the market demand," he said, without confirming or denying the reported number. "Judging by various factors … the demand is pretty strong."
Liu said that the construction of the platforms is "based on mature technology." He emphasized that the plants are mainly for civilian use, such as providing electricity for oil drilling platforms.
According to a Wednesday report published by eworldship.com, a Shanghai-based shipbuilding industry website, Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Company (BSHIC), a ship assembly enterprise under the CSIC, will be responsible for building China’s first maritime nuclear power platform, and the CSIC will build about 20 such platforms "in the future."
The report said the National Development and Reform Commission has approved this, and the Bohai company convened on Tuesday with Liaoning Provincial Economy and Informatization Commission, Huludao Municipal Economy and Informatization Commission, the safety inspection team of CSIC’s nuclear safety department and Wuhan Second Institute of Ship Design, also known by its code name Institute 719, to discuss the location and relevant viability issues of the construction.
According to the website, a group of experts has reviewed and discussed the technical plan on the construction of the platform proposed by Institute 719, which is also under the CSIC, and reached a unanimous conclusion.
Liu did not confirm or deny the existence of such a meeting.
The construction of the first maritime nuclear power platform, which serves as a demonstration project, is expected to be completed by 2018 and be put into use by 2019, China Securities Journal reported in January.