China Considers Exiting U.K. Nuclear Plant Project: Daily Mail

(Bloomberg) -- China is considering pulling out of a proposed new U.K. nuclear power station project, according to the Daily Mail.

The country’s state-owned nuclear agency, China General Nuclear Power Corp., is planning to duck out of the next phase of the 20 billion-pound ($26.5 billion) Sizewell C nuclear project, the newspaper said, citing unidentified industry sources. The project is being developed by Electricite de France SA together with CGN.

Rob Davies, an executive at CGN’s U.K. unit, said it plans to “help Sizewell C to reach a final investment decision” at an industry event this month. CGN’s press department didn’t respond to a request for comment outside of normal business hours on Saturday. CGN and EDF declined to comment to the Daily Mail.

The Sizewell C site is in the planning process, with a reactor design based on the Hinkley Point C plant that is currently under construction. EDF is looking for ways to fund it without shouldering all the risk by combining government and private financing.

Relations between China and the U.K. have been strained as the row over Huawei Technologies Co. intensified, potentially putting Britain’s ambition to renew its aging nuclear power industry under threat. Four major plants will close in the next four years, with the only project set to come online being Hinkley Point C in 2025.

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