China is edging closer to building its first floating maritime nuclear power platform with the prospects of deploying it in the disputed South China Sea, a state-run daily said on Friday even as the Foreign Ministry declined to react, saying it had not heard of the plans.
The Global Times in a report said the nuclear platforms could significantly boost the efficiency of the country’s construction work on islands in the strategic South China Sea.
It said the nuclear power platforms could “sail” to remote areas and provide a stable power supply. China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, the company in charge of designing and assembling the platforms, is “pushing forward the work”, said liu Zhengguo, the director of its general office.
“The development of nuclear power platforms is a burgeoning trend,” liu told the paper when asked to comment on a previous media report that China plans to build 20 maritime nuclear power platforms.
“The exact number of plants to be built (by CSIC) depends on the market demand,” he said, without confirming or denying the reported number.
“Judging by various factors, the demand is pretty strong,” liu said, adding the construction of the platforms is “based on mature technology.” He emphasised that the plants are mainly for civilian use, such as providing electricity for oil drilling platforms.
The daily quoted a report published by eworldship.Com, a Shanghai-based shipbuilding industry website, that Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Company will be responsible for building China’s first maritime nuclear power platform, and the CSIC will build about 20 such platforms “in the future.”