Shanghai Electric, China's top power equipment maker, plans to invest billions of yuan to expand its nuclear power equipment manufacturing facilities in the city into the world's largest by 2012.

The facilities in Lingang, 75 km southwest of downtown Shanghai, will cover production of major nuclear power station components like nuclear island and conventional island, Xu Jianguo, chairman of the company said.

"In line with the rapid development of China's nuclear power industry, we have built a full portfolio in the field," said Xu.

The company started building the second phase of its nuclear power equipment manufacturing facilities in Lingang in July.

With 1 billion yuan in investment for the second phase, the company will expand its annual output of nuclear power generating units to about four-six sets in 2012 from the current 2.5 sets.

The first phase construction of the Lingang factory was completed last year.

Production of nuclear and wind power equipment will take the place of traditional thermal power equipment to become a growth engine of Shanghai Electric in the future, Xu told China Daily in an earlier interview.

Xu said the company's sales from the nuclear business are likely to grow by 75 percent year-on-year to touch 3.5 billion yuan in 2009. Around 12 new nuclear power projects are in the pipeline currently, with installed capacity of around 23.7 million kW.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, China's nuclear power industry has seen accelerated development in recent years. In 2005, China had planned to increase its nuclear power capacity to 40 gW by 2020, when it would account for 4 percent of the nation's total power capacity.

NDRC has readjusted its earlier goal in order to coordinate with the boom in industrial development, by increasing it to some 5 percent of the total power capacity in 2020.

The country has signed a deal with a consortium led by the US-based Westinghouse Electric Co to build four third-generation nuclear power reactors.

The country will use Westinghouse's AP1000 technology to build two reactors in Sanmen, Zhejiang province, and in Haiyang, Shandong province.

China has also signed an 8-billion-euro deal with French nuclear firm Areva to supply technology for two other third-generation nuclear reactors.