Completion of unit 4 of the Shin Kori nuclear power plant has been delayed by ten months, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) has said. The APR1400 reactor is now expected to start up in September 2018. Shin Kori 4 was originally planned to be completed this November. However, it is now scheduled to be completed next September, KHNP said in a statement responding to recent media reports about a delay in the unit’s commissioning. The delay, the company said, was decided in March and reflects slight improvements in the unit’s design resulting from commissioning work carried out so far. Additional seismic assessment work is also to be carried out in response to the Gyeongju earthquake in September last year. Construction of the first pair of APR1400 reactors – Shin Kori 3 and 4 – was authorised in 2006, although the actual construction licence was not issued until April 2008. First concrete for Shin Kori 3 was poured in October 2008, with that for unit 4 following in August 2009. Unit 3 was originally scheduled to enter commercial operation at the end of 2013, with unit 4 due to start in September 2014. However, their operation was delayed by the need to test safety-related control cabling and its subsequent replacement.
World Nuclear News 10th Aug 2017 read more »