Construction will start at the Qinshan nuclear power facility in eastern Zhejiang province and at the Ling'ao facility in southern Guangdong province some time this year, the China Daily cited Kang Rixin, general manager of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), as saying.

"The four units will be designed and constructed with domestic technology," Kang was quoted as saying.

China's nuclear power industry, although only providing a small percentage of its overall energy, is expected to be one of the world's fastest growing in the coming years.

Five nuclear generators are already operating at the Qinshan facility, including three Chinese-designed reactors and two pressurized heavy water reactors with Canadian design.

Two 984 megawatt French reactors are operating at the Ling'ao facility.

In December, CNNC began taking bids from foreign companies for the other four nuclear power plants, with construction expected to begin in 2005, Kang said earlier.

Foreign companies such as Electricite de France, Westinghouse of the United States and Japan's Mitsubishi are all expected to vie for the contracts.

With nuclear power capacity expected to quadruple over its current level of 36,000 megawatts by the year 2020, the nation will need to build on average at least two 1,000 megawatt reactors a year over the next 16 years.

Nuclear power currently accounts for about 2.3 percent of China's electricity supply, compared to a world average of 16 percent, the paper said.

China currently has nine nuclear power plants in operation, with an additional two 1,000 megawatt Russian-made reactors under construction in eastern Jiangsu provoince.

WAR.WIRE