China signs deal to build new nuclear reactor in Pakistan

PARIS: China has signed a deal to build a third large nuclear reactor in Pakistan, which wants to get a ifth of its electricity from nuclear by 2030.

World Nuclear News, supported by industry lobby World Nuclear Association, reported that China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) have signed a co-operation agreement for the construction of a 1,000 megawatt (MW) HPR1000 “Hualong One” reactor at the Chashma nuclear power plant in Punjab.

The PAEC could not immediately be reached for comment.

Pakistan generates five per cent of its electricity from four small 300 MW Chinese reactors at the Chashma plant and wants to boost nuclear capacity to 8,800 MW, or about 20 per cent of power generation capacity, by 2030.

China is already building two Hualong One reactors with a capacity of 1100 MW each near the port city of Karachi, which are expected to become operational in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

PAEC chairman Muhammad Naeem told Reuters last month PAEC was in the inal stages of awarding contracts for Chasmah, which would take Pakistan’s nuclear capacity to about 5,000 MW when it is inished.

He said Pakistan wanted to build at least 3-4 more big nuclear reactors by 2030.

Imported oil is the main fuel for power generation in Pakistan, where one quarter of the population has no access to electricity.

Four Hualong reactors — a new so-called third-generation model with added safety features — are under construction in China, with the irst expected to go online in 2021.