Shenzhen, China, 27 Dec – The Chinese province of Guangdong plans to invest 74 million yuan in building three nuclear power plants by 2010, daily newspaper China Daily reported.

According to the paper, by the end of 2010 – during the 11th five-year development plan – Guangdong plans to complete the second stage of the Ling’ao power plant and build the first stages of the Yangjiang and Taishan power stations, the director of the province’s Commission fro Development and Reform, Chen Shanru said.

It is hoped that in 2020 Guangdong’s nuclear installed capacity will reach 24 million kilowatts, or some 60 percent of China’s capacity.

China currently has 8.7 million kilowatts of capacity, 4 million of which in Guangdong.

The construction of the second phase of the Ling’ao plant, the only nuclear plant o be built in China between 2001 and 2005, began last year and will include two 1-million kilowatt generators, which are expected to go online in 2010 and 2011.

The Yangjiang power station is due to begin being built in mid 2007, while the Taishan power plant has no start date scheduled.

Located in the south of the country, Guangdong, which borders the Special Administrative Regions of Macau and Hong Kong and is considered to be the powerhouse of the People’s Republic of China, covers an area of 177,900 square kilometers and has a population of around 100 million people. (macauhub)