Successful completion of the Qinshan phase III nuclear power plant-a successful model for Chinese-Canadian cooperation

This report documents Qinshan CANDU project construction and commissioning experience as well as management strategies and approaches that contributed to the successful completion of the project. The Qinshan phase III (CANDU) nuclear power plant was built in record times: Unit 1 achieved commercial operation on December 31, 2002 and Unit 2 on July 24, 2003, 43 days and 112 days ahead of schedule respectively. The reference plant design is the Wolsong 3 and 4 CANDU-6 units in the Republic of Korea. Improvements in design and construction methods allowed Unit 1 to be constructed in 51.5 Months from First Concrete to Criticality-a record in China for nuclear power plants. The key factors are project management and project management tools, quality assurance, construction methods (including open top construction, heavy lifts and modularization), electronic documentation with configuration control that provides up-to-date on-line information, CADDS design linked with material management, specialized material control including bar coding, and planning. The introduction of new design and construction techniques was achieved by combining conventional AECL practices with working experiences in China. The most advanced tools and techniques for achieving optimum construction quality, schedule and cost were used. Successful application of advanced project management methods and tools will benefit TQNPC in operation of the station, and the Chinese contractors in advancing their capabilities in future nuclear projects in China and enhancing their opportunities internationally. TQNPC's participation in Quality surveillance (QS) activities of nuclear steam plant (NSP) and Balance of Plant (BOP) offshore equipment benefited TQNPC in acquiring knowledge of specific equipment manufacturing processes, which can be applied to similar activities in China. China has established the capability of manufacturing CANDU fuel and becoming self-reliant in fuel supply. Excellent co-operation and teamwork within the integrated TQNPC/AECL Commissioning team with well documented QA program, process and procedures also contributed to the remarkable success of the Project. AECL's initial assessment, based on lessons learned, showed months and the capital costs, including IDC (Interest During Construction), reduced by almost one quarter for a replication project. Localization of construction and bulk materials was effective in Qinshan Phase III. Increased localization for future units is clearly feasible given the experience of Chinese industry. AECL is building on this experience and successful results of Qinshan CANDU NPP in its Advanced CANDU reactorTM (ACRTM) design, which will have an Nth reactor capital cost of 1000$ US per kW and a project schedule of 42 months. (author)