Japan Hokuriku: to boost safety at nuclear plant, build tsunami wall

TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters): Japan’s Hokuriku Electric Power Co said on Friday it would spend more than 20 billion yen ($260 million) beefing up safety at its sole nuclear power plant, including building a wall to guard against tsunami, as the atomic crisis in the country’s northeast rumbles on.

Public faith in nuclear power was decimated after a massive earthquake and tsunami crippled Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi facility, stalling approvals for the restart of Japanese reactors taken offline for routine maintenance.

Hokuriku Electric plans to finish a 15-metre high wall at its Shika plant in northwest Japan in autumn 2012. It estimates that the facility could be hit by tsunami of up to 5 metres if there is a major earthquake.

A company spokesman said the utility could safely resume operations at the idled plant without waiting until the completion of the new measures, expected by March 2013.

He added that Hokuriku had already completed emergency steps imposed by the government in April.($1 = 76.840 Japanese Yen)