Construction of Bailong nuclear power plant's main structure begins

The construction of the main structure of the first phrase of the Bailong nuclear power plant has started in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with the pouring of the first concrete for the nuclear island of Unit 1, the State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) said on Monday.

The nuclear power plant, located at the Jiangshan Peninsula in Fangchenggang of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is designed to house six one-million-kilowatt units with a total installed capacity of 8.62 million kilowatts. It represents an investment of 120 billion yuan (about 17 billion U.S. dollars).

The first phase of the nuclear power plant will employ domestically designed third-generation technology, with each unit having a capacity of 1.25 million kilowatts.

"Once the two units in the first phrase are put into operation, the plant will generate 20 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. This will cut standard coal consumption by around six million tons and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 16 million tons, with the carbon dioxide reduction equivalent to the planting of 44,000 hectares of broad-leaf forest," said Cai Hongtai, chief commander of the SPIC Bailong nuclear power plant project.

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropped 0.34 percent to 98.982 at 15:00 (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1606 dollars from 1.1583 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound added to 1.34 dollars from 1.3328 U.S. dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 157.74 Japanese yen, lower than 157.77 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.777 Swiss francs from 0.7827 Swiss francs, and it declined to 1.3596 Canadian dollars from 1.3697 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar dropped to 9.1855 Swedish Kronor from 9.2657 Swedish Kronor.