# Is China's Bailong Nuclear Site on Track to Become an 8.62 GWe Powerhouse?

State Power Investment Corporation completed the first concrete pour for the conventional island basemat of Bailong Unit 2 on the morning of 9 August 2026, placing 1,732 cubic metres of concrete across a continuous 38-hour-and-46-minute operation — a milestone that keeps one of China's most ambitious nuclear construction programs on schedule.

The pour covered Zone 1 of nine planned construction zones in the integral raft foundation of the turbine island. It follows the first concrete pour for Unit 1's nuclear island, which SPIC subsidiary Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research Design Institute (SNERDI) completed on 22 December 2025, placing 6,662 cubic metres of concrete in just over 64 hours. Together, these milestones confirm that both CAP1000 units at Bailong Phase I are in active construction simultaneously.

The Bailong plant, located on Jiangshan Peninsula in Fangchenggang City in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is planned as a six-unit site with a total installed capacity of 8.62 GWe and a total investment of approximately CNY120 billion. Phase I — the two CAP1000 units now under construction — carries a planned investment of about CNY40 billion (USD5.6 billion), with a 56-month construction schedule for each unit.

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## What Is the CAP1000 and Why Does It Matter Here?

The CAP1000 is China's domestically developed variant of the [Westinghouse](https://smrintel.com/companies/westinghouse) AP1000 pressurised water reactor, adapted and manufactured largely through Chinese supply chains. Each unit at Bailong is rated at 1.25 GW of electrical capacity. The design uses passive safety systems — relying on gravity, natural circulation, and compressed gas rather than active pumps for emergency core cooling — which reduces operator burden and is intended to lower construction and operating costs over time.

The conventional island (turbine island) houses the steam turbines, generators, and balance-of-plant equipment that convert thermal energy from the reactor into electricity. It is structurally and functionally separate from the nuclear island, which contains the reactor pressure vessel, [containment structure](https://smrintel.com/glossary/containment), and primary cooling loops. Completing the conventional island basemat is a prerequisite for constructing the turbine building above grade, so this pour represents a genuine sequencing milestone rather than a ceremonial one.

The integral raft foundation's skip-pour method — dividing the basemat into nine zones poured in a deliberate sequence — is standard practice for large concrete pours to manage thermal cracking caused by heat of hydration. SPIC's emphasis on continuous monitoring throughout the 38-hour-plus operation reflects the structural criticality of getting the foundation pour right; remedial work on a basemat is costly and schedule-damaging.

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## Site Scale and Strategic Context

The Bailong site's geography adds a dimension worth noting: it sits approximately 24 kilometres from the border with Vietnam and about 30 kilometres southwest of China General Nuclear's existing Fangchenggang nuclear power plant. Locating a major new nuclear cluster adjacent to an operating site suggests shared grid infrastructure, workforce, and potentially emergency planning advantages — though it also concentrates significant generation capacity in a single coastal corridor.

Phase I's projected annual output — approximately 20 billion kilowatt-hours per year once operational — is equivalent, SPIC says, to reducing standard coal consumption by about 6 million tonnes and CO₂ emissions by about 16 million tonnes annually. Those are SPIC's own projections and should be treated as design-basis estimates rather than audited figures, but they reflect the [baseload power](https://smrintel.com/glossary/baseload) rationale driving China's nuclear expansion: displacing coal at scale, not supplementing intermittent renewables.

The four larger CAP1400 reactors proposed for later phases of the Bailong site would each have significantly higher capacity than the CAP1000 units. The CAP1400 is China's next-generation large PWR, designed domestically with limited Westinghouse involvement, and its inclusion in the long-term Bailong plan signals that SPIC is treating this site as a multi-decade anchor asset.

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## Construction Timeline and What Comes Next

The State Council approved construction of Bailong Phase I — along with 10 other reactors — in August 2024. Foundation pit excavation for Unit 1's nuclear island began in late December 2024. The nuclear island first concrete followed exactly one year later, in December 2025. Now, eight months after that, the conventional island first concrete for Unit 2 is complete.

The 56-month construction schedule implies commercial operation for Unit 1 no earlier than mid-2030, assuming the December 2025 first concrete date as the clock start. Chinese large PWR construction has historically tracked close to schedule when supply chains are domestic and regulatory pathways are established — both conditions that apply here. That said, [first-of-a-kind](https://smrintel.com/glossary/foak) challenges are less relevant for CAP1000 than for genuinely novel designs; China has now completed multiple AP1000-derived units, so the learning curve is largely behind the supply chain.

The next sequencing milestones to watch: nuclear island first concrete for Unit 2 (not yet announced), and the start of structural steel erection above grade for Unit 1. Those events will provide a clearer read on whether the 56-month schedule is holding.

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## Industry Implications

For Western nuclear developers and utility planners watching from the outside, Bailong is a data point in a broader pattern: China's ability to approve, finance, and physically commence construction on large nuclear projects at a pace that has no current parallel in North America or Europe. The State Council's August 2024 tranche approved 11 reactors simultaneously; multiple sites from that approval are now in active construction.

The LCOE implications of building at this volume and pace — amortising design, supply chain, and workforce costs across dozens of units — are significant. Chinese nuclear's construction cost trajectory is not directly exportable to Western regulatory environments, but it continues to inform the theoretical NOAK cost floor that analysts use to evaluate the long-term competitiveness of nuclear against gas and renewables.

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## Key Takeaways

- SPIC poured 1,732 cubic metres of concrete over 38 hours and 46 minutes to complete Zone 1 of the Bailong Unit 2 conventional island basemat on 9 August 2026.
- Bailong Phase I comprises two CAP1000 pressurised water reactors (each 1.25 GW), with a planned investment of approximately CNY40 billion (USD5.6 billion) and a 56-month construction schedule.
- The full six-unit Bailong site targets 8.62 GWe of total installed capacity and approximately CNY120 billion in total investment.
- Unit 1's nuclear island first concrete was poured on 22 December 2025, involving 6,662 cubic metres of concrete over 64-plus hours.
- Four CAP1400 reactors are proposed for later phases, making Bailong one of China's most ambitious single-site nuclear programs.
- The site is located approximately 24 km from the Vietnamese border and 30 km from CGN's Fangchenggang plant, concentrating significant nuclear generation in southern Guangxi.

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## Frequently Asked Questions

**What is the Bailong nuclear power plant?**
Bailong is a planned six-unit nuclear power plant in Fangchenggang City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China, being developed by State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC). Phase I consists of two CAP1000 pressurised water reactors. The full site is planned for 8.62 GWe of total capacity at approximately CNY120 billion in investment.

**What is a conventional island in a nuclear plant?**
The conventional island (also called the turbine island) is the non-nuclear portion of a nuclear power plant. It houses the steam turbines, electrical generators, condensers, and balance-of-plant systems that convert heat from the reactor into electricity. It is structurally separate from the nuclear island, which contains the reactor and primary safety systems.

**What is the CAP1000 reactor design?**
The CAP1000 is China's domestically adapted version of the Westinghouse AP1000 pressurised water reactor. Each unit at Bailong has a capacity of 1.25 GW electrical. The design uses passive safety systems that do not rely on active pumps for emergency cooling.

**When will Bailong Unit 1 begin commercial operation?**
Based on the nuclear island first concrete pour in December 2025 and SPIC's stated 56-month construction schedule, commercial operation for Unit 1 is targeted no earlier than approximately mid-2030. This timeline is subject to construction progress and regulatory approvals.

**How does Bailong fit into China's broader nuclear expansion?**
Construction of Bailong Phase I was among 11 reactor approvals granted by China's State Council in August 2024. China's ability to approve and commence construction on multiple large reactor projects simultaneously — with domesticated supply chains — continues to set the pace globally for nuclear capacity additions.