China considers nuke power bids

China is still weighing bids by competing US, French and Russian nuclear power technology suppliers before deciding on which vendor would equip its two new power plants, a deal said to be worth up to US$8bn and reportedly the biggest the industry has seen in years, state media reported, citing Kang Rixin, general manager of the China National Nuclear Corp. The supplier's willingness to transfer technology to China is a key deciding factor, Kang said, who declined to give a timeline on the government's decision, although earlier state media reports have said the award could be announced in October. The project's bidders are: the French nuclear group Areva; Westinghouse Electric Co, the US unit of British Nuclear Fuels PLC and Russia's AtomStroyExport.