China will start the construction of its first floating nuclear power plant within this year, Luo Qi, head of the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) of China confirmed with Global Times on Wednesday.

A floating nuclear power plant is a marine platform equipped with scaled-down nuclear reactors, which can provide electricity and heat to areas with difficult access, such as remote areas, islands and offshore oil and gas platforms, according to Luo.

Luo noted that the floating nuclear platform does not take up a lot of space, will not be affected by earthquakes and will create no pollution.

The NPI is affiliated with the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

Gu Jun, the general manager of CNNC, previously told the Global Times that the corporation is in preparation for a floating nuclear power plant off the coast of East China's Shandong Province.

Gu did not reveal further details of the project, saying that information including the volume of investment is still unknown.

The Qilu Evening News based in Jinan, Shandong, reported in November 2018 that the first floating nuclear power platform of a CNNC project will cost 14 billion yuan ($2.1 billion), and will be put into use in 2021.