Four CAP1000 units planned at site in Guangdong province
The first ring of the steel containment vessel has been installed at Unit 2 of the Lufeng nuclear power station in Guangdong province, southern China, the official China National Nuclear Power News Network (CNNPN) said.
CNNPN said the operation marks the start of a peak construction phase for civil engineering and installation work on the unit’s nuclear island.
Lufeng-2 will be a Generation III, 1,161-MW CAP1000 pressurised water reactor (PWR), China’s indigenous version of US-based Westinghouse’s AP1000 design.
Construction began in December 2025 with pouring first concrete for the nuclear island foundation slab.
CNNPN said the first containment ring is the largest and heaviest of six main steel containment vessel rings, also called tiers. It is made from four layers of steel plates and weighs about 1,029 tonnes.
Four CAP1000 units are planned at the Lufeng site. Construction of Lufeng-1 began in February 2025 and of Lufeng-2 in December 2025.
Construction of the two additional units, Lufeng-3 and Lufeng-4, has not yet begun.
Two domestic Hualong One PWR units are also under construction at the site. Construction of Lufeng-5 began in September 2022 and Lufeng-6 in August 2023.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s database of nuclear plants in China says China has 60 plants in commercial operation and 35 under construction. About half of those under construction are domestic Hualong One units and nine are CAP1000 units
