BEIJING - China National Nuclear Power Co Ltd, the nation's leading nuclear energy developer, is planning an A-share initial public offering (IPO) to fund the development of its nuclear power projects.

The company did not specify the size of its IPO, but said in a statement on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection that money raised from the IPO will be used to fund five nuclear power projects worth 173.52 billion yuan ($27.41 billion).

The company, formed in December 2011 in an effort to restructure its parent company, the State-owned China National Nuclear Corporation, has passed the ministry's environmental inspections, the statement said.

The Chinese government requires companies in heavy-pollution industries such as the steel, mining, chemical and petrochemical industries to pass environmental examinations before submitting IPO applications to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the securities supervisor. But nuclear power development is not included among the industries that require such inspections.

However, as the ministry has attached great importance to nuclear power security issues, it has required the company to follow the environmental inspection procedures, said an official with the ministry's Department of Nuclear Safety Management.

The ministry will start research on the environmental examination requirements concerning the IPOs of nuclear power companies, the official said under condition of anonymity.