Pakistan and China partner on $4.8-bln nuclear plant

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and China National Nuclear Cooperation have signed an MoU to build a 1.2 GW nuclear facility in Punjab, Pakistan, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Work on developing the USD 4.8-billion Chashma 5 facility is expected to begin immediately.

The plant will contain China National Nuclear Cooperation’s Hualong One or HPR 1000 pressurized water reactor technology, which will make it the third facility in Pakistan to do so.

The Chinese government has given Pakistan a USD 100-million discount to begin building the project, which has been on hold since it was originally planned several years ago.

Four other nuclear plants currently exist in the city of Chashma with a collective output of 1.23 GW.

In 2021, Pakistan commissioned the country’s sixth nuclear plant that raised the country’s nuclear energy production by 1.1 GW. The plant was also constructed alongside Chinese partners.

Pakistan’s total nuclear power generation output stands at 1.4 GW.

“Investment from China in [the Chashma 5] project to the tune of $4.8 billion sends a message loud and clear that Pakistan is a place where Chinese companies and investors continue to show their trust and faith,” said Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

China has invested more than $20 billion in constructing roads, power generation facilities and ports in Pakistan over the last ten years under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative.