China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) has completed the installation of the 270-tonne containment building outer dome at its Ningde Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 in Fujian province, marking the transition of the Hualong One (HPR1000) reactor from civil construction to equipment installation.
The 45-metre-diameter dome was lifted to a height equivalent to a 20-storey building using a large crawler crane and precisely positioned at 08:02 local time. The entire lifting and installation process took two hours and 45 minutes.
CGN described the dome as the core safety barrier of the reactor building, responsible for structural integrity, airtightness, and radioactive containment. The structure is a hemispherical hyperboloid shell, assembled from main steel plates, angle steel keels, studs, and internal supporting components.
