JOHANNESBURG: Nuclear energy regulators in South Africa and China have signed a technical cooperation agreement as Africa’s most industrialised economy presses forward with controversial plans to build eight new nuclear reactors. The deal, which includes ‘licensing procedures, vendor inspections, inspector training and joint inspections and technical support’, was signed last week in Beijing, South Africa’s National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) announced on Monday. China is competing with Russia, France, the United States and South Korea for the South African nuclear power plant construction programme, which is worth up to $50 billion (46.5 billion euros).