Four Chinese companies on Wednesday signed an agreement to invest in the construction of the plant in Rushan City, on the southeast side of Shandong Peninsula, said the spokesman.

    The four investors are China Nuclear Engineering and Construction (Group) Corporation (CNECC), Shandong Luneng Development Group Co. Ltd, Huadian Power International CorporationLtd and Shandong International Trust and Investment Corporation, with CNECC owning a 51-percent stake.

    Also inaugurated at Wednesday's signing ceremony was Shandong Hongshiding Nuclear Power Co. Ltd, the developer of the planned nuclear power project.

    The Hongshiding nuclear power plant will be installed with two one-million-kw generating units in its first phase, with four set to be added later.

    A spokesman for the Shandong Provincial Government said the plant would guarantee Shandong a safe and reliable energy source to support the province's fast economic growth.

    China currently has six nuclear power plants with 11 generating units in operation on the mainland, with a combined installed capacity of 8,700 megawatts. They include five in the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in East China's Zhejiang Province and four in the Daya Bay and Ling'ao Nuclear Power plants in South China's Guangdong Province.

    The electricity generated by nuclear power plants accounted for2.1percent of the country's total in 2005, according to CNECC General Manager Kang Rixin.