China will not develop nuclear power plants inland before 2015, a State Council executive meeting decided on Oct 24. The decision means that inland nuclear power projects on which preliminary work has already begun will be halted for at least another three years.

China National Nuclear Corp has already moved major equipment and staff members from its Taohuajiang nuclear power project in Hunan province to its Xudabao plant at Huludao in coastal Liaoning province.

The Taohuajiang project, which was launched in 2006, originally planned to build four units of 1,250 MWe AP1000 reactors, with total investment estimated to reach 67 billion yuan ($10.7 billion). The first unit was expected to begin commercial operation in 2015, generating a maximum of 28 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per annum.