Chinese authorities will be forced to speed up the approval process for constructing new nuclear reactors if they want to meet 2020 goals, according to the chairman of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), a state owned company developing nuclear energy in the country.

China seeks to raise its total installed nuclear capacity to 58 gigawatts in five years. It is 20 gigawatts at the moment.

Chinese authorities launched a nationwide safety investigation following the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. The incident, dubbed the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, claimed more than 15,000 lives and caused radioactive contamination of the surrounding atmosphere, soil and seawater.

Chinese authorities placed a temporary ban on approving new nuclear projects while the probe was ongoing. Although the investigation was completed in late 2013, China has not approved any new projects since then. CNNC hopes to receive approval for six new reactors by the end of the year.

"The country's determination to develop the nuclear industry has not changed but the planning has slowed a little," CNNC chairman Sun Qin told Reuters. "The target won't change, but it will need hard work, especially these next two years."

Source: Sputnik News