Hitachi and Toshiba to work together on reactor design

The Japanese Hitachi Ltd and Toshiba Corp have decided to cooperate in nuclear reactor design to improve their price competitiveness. They will receive their first order from TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) in the first half of 2005, for Higashidoori-1, an ABWR to be built in the Aomori prefecture. Construction of this new reactor, estimated to cost about 400 billion yen (€2.9 billion), should begin in fiscal year 2006.