France is due to sign a $5 billion deal in the autumn to build two new-generation nuclear power reactors in China, as agreed earlier this year, sources close to the deal said on Thursday. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is expected to visit Beijing on July 31 to sign a letter of intent, the sources said.
"The (formal) deal should be signed in the autumn but we don't have more precise information," one source said. French state-run nuclear reactor company Areva and the French finance ministry declined to comment. The agreement concerns European Pressurised Reactors (EPR), with total power capacity of 3.2 gigawatts (GW), which are to be completed in the southern Guangdong province by around 2013.
A draft agreement was signed between Areva and China Guandong Nuclear Power Corp (CGNPC) in February but another agreement between the two companies and their respective governments is needed for the deal to go ahead, sources added.
The February agreement raised eyebrows having come after China had awarded contracts for four reactors to US-based Westinghouse Electric, now owned by Japan's Toshiba, dampening hopes that France would secure a deal in China.
Beijing plans to spend $50 billion on building around 30 nuclear reactors by 2020, raising its installed nuclear capacity to 40 GW - nearly enough to power Spain. China currently operates nine nuclear reactors.