Haiyang unit 5 gets first safety-related concrete, starting main construction of the CAP1000
Victoria Shinder1 min readThe first safety-related concrete for the reactor building of unit 5 at the Haiyang nuclear power plant in China's Shandong province was poured on 31 October, according to China Nuclear Industry 24 Construction, the CNNC subsidiary contracted by State Power Investment Corporation to build the nuclear islands of Haiyang Phase III. The company said the pour marks the official start of main construction of unit 5.
The first pour for the nuclear island is about 6,626 cubic metres and was expected to take nearly 62 hours. Units 5 and 6, both CAP1000 reactors, the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000, were approved by the State Council on 27 April 2025 and already hold construction permits from the National Nuclear Safety Administration.
Unit 5 is the fifth of six large pressurised water reactors planned for the site. Phase I, two AP1000 units, entered commercial operation in October 2018 and January 2019. Construction of the two CAP1000 units of Phase II began in July 2022 and April 2025, and both are scheduled to be fully operational in 2027. The builder says that once units 5 and 6 are running the site will be the world's largest nuclear base using only passive pressurised water reactors, with annual generation of 60.9 billion kWh and district heating for more than 150 million square metres.
What it means
First concrete is the milestone the industry counts construction time from, so the clock for unit 5 starts now. At Haiyang that means three phases of the same passive design family, with Phase II due to be fully operational in 2027 while Phase III is only starting.