Areva wins US$194M Chinese contracts

AREVA has won two contracts worth over US$194,603,009 to supply Chinese utility CNPEC with 18 reactor coolant pumps.

AREVA closed the deal through Areva Dongfang, its joint venture with DongFang Electrical Corporation, which specialises in reactor coolant pump sets.

The pumps, which are essential components of the primary system of a nuclear reactor, will equip the 1000 MW Generation II plants in Yangjiang in Guangdong province and Ningde in Fujian province in South Eastern China.

Production will begin in 2009 and the pumps will be delivered in batches between 2011 and 2013.

To see through these projects, Areva Dongfang is set to make major investments to increase the production capacity of its plant in Deyang in Sichuan province in Central China.

"These two contracts follow on from a similar order signed with CNPEC in 2008 and bear witness to the sound, longstanding relationship we have with our Chinese partner. Such contracts illustrate AREVA's ability to effectively work with the local nuclear industry, be it for the manufacture of major components or the supply of nuclear services," said Guillaume Dureau, Executive Vice President for AREVA's Equipment business unit.

The reactor coolant system serves to transfer the energy created by the nuclear reaction to the secondary system which, in turn, creates electricity by means of a turbine and alternator.