KARACHI:
After the Pakistani Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) received formal approval to load fuel, the authorities completed the loading of the second 1,100 megawatt nuclear power plant on Friday.
The important milestone coincided with three decades of successful nuclear cooperation between Pakistan and China.
The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, commonly known as K-3, is in the final stages of commissioning and, following operational and safety tests, the power plant is expected to go into commercial operation in late March 2022.
With the introduction of K-2 and K-3 into the national power grid, the share of nuclear energy in Pakistan’s energy mix will exceed 10 percent, according to a press release.
With the signing of the “Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” between the governments of China and Pakistan in 1986, a new era began in Pakistan’s nuclear power development program.
However, the first concrete step on this remarkable journey was taken 30 years ago when the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) signed a contract to build and install a 325 megawatt pressurized water reactor (PWR). at Chashma on December 31, 1991.
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The cooperation was strengthened with the construction of three more nuclear power plants at the Chashma Nuclear Power Generation Station (CNPGS). The contract for the construction of two further blocks with a generation capacity of 1,100 megawatts each near Karachi was signed on February 18, 2013.
These units are called Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 (K-2) & K-3.
After the groundbreaking of the K-2 and K-3 in November 2013, the construction of the K-3 officially began.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, both Pakistan and China faced adversity and continued construction. K-2 successfully commenced commercial operation on May 21, 2021, K-3 is now expected to do so by the end of March 2022.
K-2 and K-3 are PWRs based on the Chinese ACP-1000 design and are third generation power plants equipped with advanced safety functions.
DG SPD Lt Gen Nadeem Zaki Manj, chairman PAEC Muhammad Naeem (HI, SI), chairman PNRA Faizan Mansoor and chairman NEPRA attended the ceremony on the occasion of thirty years of cooperation between China and Pakistan and the loading of K-3 fuel. part Tauseef H Farooqi.
Chairperson China National Nuclear Corp CNNC, Chairperson China Zhongyuan Engineering Corp (CZEC), Chairperson CAEA, Chairperson CAEC, and dignitaries from the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan attended the ceremony online.
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