The £22bn Hinkley Point C nuclear development near Burnham-On-Sea has banned its workers from flying to China over fears that its links to Beijing could make it particularly vulnerable to the recent outbreak of coronavirus.
Hinkley Point C, which is jointly owned by China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) and French energy giant EDF, has reportedly suspended all travel to China, and postponed all worker family visits.
Meanwhile, all expats returning from China have been asked to self-quarantine and work from home for two weeks.
EDF says it has “issued protective advice to staff advising them on the common sense precautions we can all take to minimise our individual risk,” and would continue “to closely monitor the situation.”
There is currently not believed to be any operational impact to the construction of Hinkley Point C, which has already been delayed by around 15 months.
The Chinese state-controlled nuclear firm CGN paid £6bn in 2015 to buy a third of the project, Britain’s first new nuclear plant in a generation.
