GUANGZHOU - China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) said Tuesday Britain will begin the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for the HPR1000 nuclear technology, marking the first step in a process to seek permission to build a nuclear power station at Bradwell in Essex.

Britain's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy confirmed Tuesday the nuclear regulators have been asked to begin the GDA process, CGN said in a press release.

GGN and French energy company EDF had submitted a joint application through their joint venture company GNS in October 2016 to begin the GDA process for a British version of China-developed HPR1000 nuclear technology,

The reference plant for the design is CGN's Fangchenggang Plant Unit 3 in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which is under construction and on schedule.

The GDA process will take a number of years to complete.