China and Argentina hope to close a deal related to the construction of the latter’s fourth nuclear power plant this weekend, reports Reuters.
Juan Pablo Tripodi, head of Argentina’s national investment agency, said in an interview that Argentina planned to announce an agreement concerning the Chinese-financed construction of the Atucha III nuclear power plant during President Xi Jinping’s state visit on Sunday.
Xi will be in Buenos Aires for the upcoming G20 Summit, which begins on Friday, before conducting a state visit in the country.
The original deal was inked by the two sides in November 2015 and is said to be worth around 15 billion dollars, with China contributing 85 percent of the required financing.
However, due to a change of government in Argentina, there were doubts about whether the deal would go through.
These fears were allayed during Argentine President Mauricio Macri’s state visit to China in May 2017, when Nucleoelectrica Argentina (NASA) and the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) concluded the commercial negotiating phase for a fourth nuclear plant and worked out an advanced framework agreement for a fifth.
When the fourth plant is complete, it will generate approximately 750 megawatts (MW) of power and more than 7,000 jobs.
The fifth plant is set to feature a light-water and enriched uranium reactor, developed with Chinese technology, and will produce some 1,000 MW of power.
China established diplomatic ties with Argentina in 1972. Currently, China is the South American country’s second largest export and third biggest import partner, according to figures by CGTN.
