Pakistan plans new generation of nuclear plants for 2030

• 10 years ago (2014-01-05)
• Junior Isles

Asia 892 Nuclear 659

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Pakistan is planning to have seven 1100 MW nuclear power plants operating by 2030 and an additional four smaller 300 MW units, according to Dr Ansar Parvez, Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.

Dr Parvez was addressing the media at the Chashma Nuclear Power Complex under construction near Islamabad, the future home of the four smaller 300 MW units, and confirmed that nuclear power would be a major player in Pakistan’s future power sector.

The government has also begun work on two 1100 MW nuclear plants in Karachi (Kanupp-II and Kanupp-III), with groundbreaking undertaken this past November.

Dr Parvez confirmed that five more 1100 MW plants would commence construction in next 10 years.

“The process for site selection of plants is continuing and with the passage of time indigenisation is increasing,” he said.

“With more than 55 reactor-years of successful operating experience to its credit, the PAEC (Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission) can confidently move from technology acquisition status to actually starting contributing sizeable electrical energy to the system,” he said.

Dr Parvez said that the 300 MW units at Chashma would be the last installed as the larger plants are preferred, and that the 125 MW Kanupp-I facility, Pakistan’s first nuclear plant, would be wound up after the first planned 1100 MW plant becomes operational at the Kanupp site.

“The Kanupp-II and Kanupp-III will lay the foundation for large-sized nuclear power plants,” he said.

Availability of funds would not be an issue for setting up more nuclear power plants, Dr Parvez claimed, but acknowledged that China was the only possible source of new reactors.