Chubu Electric Power Co said Thursday it has completed construction of a seawall to protect its Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The seawall, which rises 22 meters above sea level, is 1.6 kilometers long, and along with other safety measures at the plant, cost about 400 billion yen, Fuji TV reported. Construction began in November 2011.

The Hamaoka plant, which is said to be above a major faultline, is just 100 meters away from the Pacific Ocean and sits in the Tokai region, southwest of Tokyo, where seismologists have long warned that a major quake is overdue because two major continental plates meet here in the Nankai Trough.

Chubu Electric said it is also working on other measures to prevent flooding inside the plant, and programs to safeguard cooling systems that bring reactors to safe shutdown in case of severe accidents. Those measures are expected to be completed on the No. 4 reactor building in September this year and on the No. 3 reactor building in September 2017.

Chubu Electric has applied to the Nuclear Regulation Authority for a safety check of the two reactors. However, the inspection has been on hold pending the investigation of a geologic fault under the plant. Chubu Electric said its own geological survey in the area found no active faultlines.

The NRA has requested sea floor inspections near the faultlines, and more detailed diagrams of the movement of the plates near the plant.

© Japan Today