The first phase of a nuclear power project was launched in east China's Shandong Province on Monday.

The project, in Shandong's Haiyang City, consists of eight nuclear power units with pressurized-water reactors.

The first phase of the project includes two units each with an installed capacity of 1.25 gigawatts, according to Lu Qizhou, general manager of China Power Investment Corporation.

The project will adopt the most advanced Westinghouse-designed AP1000 pressurized water reactors, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2009)