The reactor vessel's delivery came the day after four steam generators were delivered.
In April, Rosatom reported that the reactor vessel and steam generators had set off from the production site at the same time as a similar set for India's Kudankulam 5 - which it said was the first time two sets of such equipment had been shipped at the same time from one production site. The delivery route was by road from Atommash, in the Volgodonsk area of Russia, to a specialised factory berth before being moved by barge to St Petersburg before travelling by sea to China and to India.
Weighing 334.2 tonnes and with a length of 12 metres, the reactor vessel will now be inspected to ensure it meets regulatory requirements before it is installed in Tianwan 7, where the installation of the reactor building dome is currently taking place, Rosatom said.
In June 2018, Russia and China signed four agreements, including for the construction of two VVER-1200 reactors as units 7 and 8 of the Tianwan plant, with work launched in May 2021 at a ceremony attended via video-link by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tianwan 7 and 8 are scheduled to be commissioned in 2026-2027.
