The pour took about 62 hours. On Oct. 31, 2026, China Nuclear Industry 24 Construction Co. (CNNC 24) placed the first concrete for the unit 5 nuclear island at the Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant in Shandong province, roughly 6,626 cubic metres in a single continuous pour. That marks the official start of main construction on Haiyang Phase III, a pair of CAP1000 reactors owned by State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC).
When they’re done, Haiyang will have six passive pressurized water reactors on one coastline, which CNNC 24 says will make it the largest nuclear base in the world built entirely on that technology.
Project Scope
Phase III covers units 5 and 6, both CAP1000s, the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000. China’s State Council approved them on April 27, 2025, and the National Nuclear Safety Administration has issued construction permits for both. SPIC hired CNNC 24 for civil construction of the two nuclear islands.
The site already has a track record. Phase I’s two AP1000 units entered commercial operation in October 2018 and January 2019. Phase II, two more CAP1000s, is under construction and is scheduled to be fully running in 2027. CNNC 24 has worked on each phase, and it says lessons from those jobs fed design changes and advance reviews of the construction sequence for this one.
Large first pours are where nuclear schedules get tested early. A basemat placement of this size means continuous batching, delivery and placement for nearly three days, with thermal control and inspection hold points that don’t forgive gaps.
Why It Matters
Haiyang isn’t just a power plant. It also pipes reactor heat to nearby cities for district heating. With all six units online, CNNC 24 puts annual output at 60.9 billion kilowatt-hours and heating coverage above 150 million square metres across 25 county-level cities. It estimates the plant will displace about 18.56 million tonnes of standard coal a year.
The bigger story is cadence. The U.S. built its first AP1000s at Vogtle years late and billions over budget. China is now pouring nuclear-island concrete for its fifth and sixth units of the same reactor family at a single site, with the same civil contractor carrying crews and procedures forward from phase to phase. That repetition is exactly what Western nuclear advocates say they need, and Haiyang shows what it looks like in practice.
No investment figure for Phase III has been published in the reports we reviewed.
Project Team & Details
| Owner / Client | State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) |
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| General Contractor | China Nuclear Industry 24 Construction Co. (CNNC 24) - Nuclear Island Civil Construction |
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| Status | Under Construction |
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