Largest nuclear power firm holds open house in transparency drive

China's largest nuclear power company said on Wednesday it will hold an open house annually as part of efforts to make its operations more transparent.

China General Nuclear Power Group, operator of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, said the event will help boost public trust in the safety of nuclear power.

Hu Guangyao, spokesman for the group, said at a press conference held at the Daya Bay plant that the company can respond quickly to safety concerns through increased communication with the public.

The 2011 leak of radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan has raised concerns about nuclear safety in China.

A planned nuclear fuel processing project by the group in Heshan, Guangdong was canceled in July because of opposition from residents.

Wu Yuxiong, mayor of Heshan, said the government respects public opinion and will not seek approval for the project.

The group, which supplies 53 percent of China's nuclear power, is the largest nuclear power plant builder in the world and its Daya Bay plant is China's largest nuclear plant.

"Our group has realized that ensuring production safety depends not only on technology, but also on transparent operation and public supervision," Hu said.

On Wednesday, a group of students from the Nanjing Institute of Technology in Jiangsu province became the first group of visitors to the open house.

The State Council announced the establishment of the company in 1994, when its first nuclear power unit at the Daya Bay plant went into production.

Boasting uranium reserves of 338,000 metric tons, the company has developed overseas businesses in Namibia and Kazakhstan and is bidding for a nuclear power project in Turkey.