The Pakistani Government has launched the construction of the 1.2 GW Unit 5 of the Chashma nuclear power plant, located in in the Mianwali district of the Punjab Province (central Pakistan) and built by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). The launch follows the signing of a US$4.8bn agreement in June 2023 between CNNC and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, for the construction of a Hualong One reactor at the site. Construction is expected to be completed in 7 to 8 years (in 2030 or 2031) at a cost of around US$3.5bn.
The Chashma nuclear power plant already comprises four reactors, each with a capacity of around 300 MW, commissioned between 2000 and 2017. The new unit is not the first collaboration between Pakistan and China on nuclear energy. Earlier in June 2023, the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) granted an operating licence to the 1.1 GW third unit of the Karachi nuclear power plant, which is the second of two Hualong One pressurised water reactors installed at the plant and supplied by China’s CNNC.
At the end of 2021, nuclear represented 4% of Pakistan’s installed capacity with over 1.4 GW and 13% of its power generation with more than 19 TWh.
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