Nuclear Power Plants in Pakistan

[Luosifen]

A nice view of K-2 and K-3, Karachi...................

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Pakistan power project using China’s Hualong One connected to grid - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn

The K-3 unit of the Karachi Nuclear Power Project in Pakistan, the fourth entity to use a China-designed third-generation nuclear reactor, was successfully connected to the grid on Friday, laying solid foundations for commercial operation.

All four of the units adopting China’s Hualong One nuclear reactor are now connected to the grid and are generating electricity, China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) said in a statement on Friday.

Each Hualong One unit is expected to generate nearly 10 billion kWh of electricity annually after being completed, which can meet the annual electricity demand of more than 4 million households in Pakistan – equivalent to reducing use of standard coal by 3.12 million tons, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 8.16 million tons every year. It is also the equivalent of planting more than 70 million trees, CNNC said.

It is of great significance for optimizing Pakistan's energy structure, as well as reaching carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, CNNC added.

The success in construction and operation of the nuclear reactors in Pakistan will make the Hualong One technology better received in the global market, especially in countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, observers said.

The K-2 unit of the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant in Pakistan, which also uses Hualong One, officially started commercial operation on May 20 last year.

As China's "calling card" for its nuclear power industry, Hualong One has become one of the most widely recognized third-generation nuclear power reactors in the market.

All of Hualong One’s core components are produced domestically, and it has a design life of 60 years and meets the strictest safety standards in the world, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency.

In May 2015, construction began on the world's first Hualong One demonstration project in Fuqing. On January 30, the world's first nuclear power unit under Hualong One, unit 5 of CNNC's Fuqing nuclear power plant, entered commercial operation.

With Hualong One online, China is now at the world forefront of third-generation nuclear technology, alongside countries like the US, France and Russia, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing CNNC Chairman Yu Jianfeng.

The commercial use of Hualong One will also help to meet China’s goal for CO2 emissions to peak before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, Yu added.

Are there any more reactors planned for this site?

 

[Bilal.]

Are there any more reactors planned for this site?

Plan is for 1 at Chashma and 2 at Muzaffargarh and probably 1 at Adampur.

Pakistan’s peaceful nuclear programme | The Express Tribune

Two nuclear power plants at Karachi, two at Muzaffargarh and one power plant at Chashma are planned in near future

tribune.com.pk

 

[ghazi52]

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Construction of Karachi 3, the second of two 1100 MWe Hualong One units to be built near Paradise Point in the province of Sindh, began in May 2016. Karachi 2 entered commercial operation in May last year. The units are the first exports of CNNC's Hualong One, which is also promoted on the international market as HPR1000.

The Karachi units are also sometimes referred to as KANUPP, and the site was home to Pakistan's first nuclear power reactor, Karachi 1 - a small 100 MWe (90 MWe net) Canadian pressurised heavy water reactor which shut down in 2021 after 50 years of operation.

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[ghazi52]

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Pakistan, China agree to build Chashma 5​

23 November 2017

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) have signed a cooperation agreement on the construction of a HPR1000 Hualong One reactor at the Chashma nuclear power plant.

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The agreement was signed by the chairmen of CNNC and PAEC (Image: CNNC)

"According to the agreement, CNNC will build a one-million-kilowatt-class nuclear power unit with HPR1000 technology at the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant in Pakistan," CNNC said yesterday. The reactor will be the seventh nuclear power unit that China has exported to Pakistan and the third HPR1000.

The Chinese-designed HPR1000 Hualong One reactor design is under construction in China, at Fuqing units 5 and 6 and Fangchenggang units 3 and 4. The first Hualong One unit, Fuqing 5, is expected to start up in 2019, with Fangchenggang 3 to follow the same year, and the other two units in 2020.

Chashma is already home to four Chinese-built CNP-300 units, while two HPR1000 units are under construction at Pakistan's Karachi nuclear power plant. Construction began on Karachi unit 2 in 2015 and unit 3 in 2016; the units are planned to enter commercial operation in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

The HPR1000 has also been proposed for construction at Bradwell in the UK, where it is undergoing Generic Design Assessment. UK national regulatory bodies the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency recently announced the start of the second, technical, phase of the assessment programme for the UK HPR1000.

Chashma 5 will be constructed by CNNC subsidiary CNNC China Zhongyuan Engineering Corp, the company said.

 

[ghazi52]

Research and development​

The Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology (PINSTECH) at Rawalpindi near Islamabad is managed by the PAEC and is one of the largest science and technology research establishments in the country. It has conducted research into reprocessing used nuclear fuel, though today it claims to be focused on research in medicine, biology, materials and physics, including production of medical radioisotopes.

Pakistan has a 10 MW pool-type research reactor, PARR-1, of 1965 vintage, supplied by the USA under the Atoms for Peace program. It was converted to use low-enriched uranium fuel in 1991, and upgraded from 5 to 10 MW. PARR-2 is an indigenous 30 kW miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR) based on Chinese design and using high-enriched fuel operating since 1974. Both are located at the PINSTECH Laboratory, Nilore, near Islamabad. They are under IAEA safeguards. One of them produces some Mo-99 from HEU targets.

New Labs at PINSTECH in Rawalpindi is reported to be a reprocessing plant for weapons-grade plutonium production, and not under safeguards. It is run by PAEC and operational since 1981. This was apparently the culmination of a plutonium weapons program predating the Kahuta HEU weapons program, and replaced an unfinished much larger reprocessing plant (100 t/yr) being built at Chashma by France, but cancelled in 1978.

At Khushab, 200 km south of Islamabad, there are four heavy water reactors dedicated to production of weapons-grade plutonium, plus a heavy water plant. The first of these, a 'multipurpose' PHWR estimated at 30-40 MWt, started operating in 1998. Then a larger (40-50 MWt) heavy water reactor was built there from about 2002, and appeared to be operational at the end of 2009. In 2006, construction started on a third reactor, similar to and adjacent to the second, and this appeared to be operational by the end of 2013. A similar but larger (90 MWt) fourth reactor was built from 2011 a few hundred metres away, and appeared to be operational in January 2015. These seem to add up to a substantial plutonium production capacity. Khushab is reported to be making demands upon the country's limited uranium resources. A small heavy water plant is nearby.

Reprocessing of military material is reported to take place at Chashma, 80 km west, and the original French reprocessing plant is apparently under renewed construction there, a couple of kilometres southwest of Chashma 1-4 power reactors.

The Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at Kahuta in Punjab is described as a weapons engineering R&D institute and research laboratory, focused on producing high-enriched uranium using centrifuge technology originally stolen from Urenco by Dr Abdul Q Khan. Set up about 1976 as the Engineering Research Laboratories it was a key part of Pakistan's weapons program, supported by the Army Corps of Engineers in competition with the plutonium program being pursued by PAEC. It was renamed in honour of Dr Khan in 1981.

Regulation​

The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) is responsible for licensing and supervision, and regulates the safety and security of all civil nuclear materials and facilities. In respect to the Chashma reactors, and presumably also the Karachi Coastal power project, it works closely with China's National Nuclear Safety Administration. It was formed in 2001, superseding the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Board (set up by PAEC) and the Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection.

Pakistan is party to the Convention on Nuclear Safety and two international conventions for early notification and assistance.

Non-proliferation​

Pakistan is not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but does have its civil power reactors and two research reactors (PARR 1&2) under item-specific IAEA safeguards. An agreement for two further 340 MWe reactors – Chashma 3&4 – came into force in April 2011. In March 2017 the IAEA approved Pakistan’s request to apply international safeguards to both Karachi Coastal units, and the agreement on this came into force in May. Pakistan has refused calls for international inspections of its enrichment activities.

The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said in May 2018: "Unlike India, Pakistan has barely separated its civil and military nuclear facilities and in general remains highly secretive about its nuclear program. The opaqueness of Pakistan's nuclear program, its expanding nuclear weapons arsenal, and its refusal to separate its military and civilian nuclear program are cited as reasons by many countries opposing Pakistan's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), as well as [opposing] any country supplying it with additional nuclear power reactors or other fuel cycle facilities or capabilities. Such supply is viewed by many countries as a violation of NSG guidelines."

Pakistan's Kahuta project (incorporating Project-706) to produce a uranium bomb was launched in 1972, following a disastrous war with India. It was partly financed by Libya to 1979. In May 1974 India exploded a nuclear test close to the Pakistan border, galvanising Pakistani efforts. The project was disbanded in 1983 after a successful cold test of weapons components.

In May 1998 Pakistan exploded five atomic devices in Baluchistan. At least one was evidently made from enriched uranium, but the Chagai II test in Kharan desert used plutonium produced by New Labs.

Pakistan is reported to be the sole nation blocking agreement of the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) in Geneva negotiations.

Through the activities of Dr Khan, a centrifuge plant and nuclear weapons designs were secretly supplied to Libya from the late 1990s to 2003 to help build a weapons program there. He also transferred centrifuge technology to North Korea in the 1990s, and to Iran. This is the main basis for the NSG refusing to ease nuclear trade sanctions for Pakistan, as it has for India. China is the only country to act in defiance of trade sanctions, and has deepened cooperation since the international US-led concessions to India in 2008. This is most obvious in 2013 agreements to build the twin-unit Karachi Coastal power plant and the CNNC contract with PAEC for lifetime fuel supply for this.

Addressing the 3rd Nuclear Security Summit at The Hague in March 2014, the prime minister said that Pakistan had been running a safe and secure nuclear program for over four decades with the expertise, manpower and infrastructure to produce civil nuclear energy. He called for Pakistan’s inclusion in all international export control regimes, especially the NSG. He pointed out that international treaties and forums would supplement Pakistan’s national actions to fortify nuclear security.

Domestically, he said that today the country’s nuclear security is supported by five pillars – a strong command and control system led by the National Command Authority (NCA); an integrated intelligence system; a rigorous regulatory regime; a comprehensive export control regime; and active international cooperation. The security regime covers physical protection, material control and accounting, border controls and radiological emergencies, he said.

Pakistan is a major recipient of technical cooperation from the IAEA, and is one of 35 members of the IAEA Board of Governors, though it remains outside the NPT.

 

[ghazi52]

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Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) Unit 1​

Pakistan’s first nuclear power plant, 137 MW KANUPP, was constructed in the outskirt of Karachi and achieved its first criticality on August 01, 1971.
After almost 50-years of operation, permanent shutdown of the plant on August, 2021...

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[ghazi52]

Love Pakistan.....

Pakistan’s Nuclear-regulatory body effective, says IAEA mission...​

Amin Ahmed..
March 20, 2022..

ISLAMABAD: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that new and updated nuclear safety regulations in Pakistan have significantly updated and strengthened nuclear and radiation safety in the country.

The agency’s Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) team, which recently completed its mission in Pakistan, however noted a few areas where challenges remain, including a continued focus on decommissioning, spent fuel management and radioactive waste disposal, according to an IAEA press release.

The team visited Pakistan at the government’s request and concluded an eight-day follow-up mission earlier this month to review the country’s implementation of recommendations and suggestions made during an initial IRRS mission in 2014. The follow-up mission was hosted by the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA).

The team found that improvements in Pakistan’s regulatory functions and activities had improved nuclear safety by enhancing the development of regulations and strengthening arrangements for regulatory inspections, authorisations, emergency preparedness and response, occupational radiation protection and environmental radiation monitoring.

Encourages continued focus on radioactive waste management

However, they noted that while a national policy is in place for the safe management of radioactive waste and spent fuel, decommissioning and waste disposal, Pakistan would benefit from more active involvement in international cooperation in this area to gain from the shared experiences of other countries.

The mission reviewed the regulatory framework for all civilian facilities and activities using radiation in Pakistan. The country has five operating nuclear power reactors, providing over seven per cent of its electricity, with one additional reactor due to become operational this year. It also has two research reactors and uses sealed radiation sources in medical and industrial applications.

The team found that Pakistan has successfully implemented all 13 recommendations from the 2014 mission and had adequately addressed 29 out of 31 suggestions.

“The team saw how Pakistan has taken major steps to meet all recommendations from the initial mission. The team’s technical discussions with the PNRA were frank and wide-ranging,” said Anna Hajduk Bradford, Director of the IAEA Nuclear Installation Safety Division, at the exit meeting for the mission. “Pakistan has made clear improvements to make its regulatory infrastructure more efficient and effective.”

The IRRS team consisted of six senior regulatory experts from Ethiopia, France, Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as four IAEA staff members. They conducted a series of interviews and discussions with PNRA staff and met with representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The major modernisation of the National Radiation Emergency Coordination Centre (NRECC) strengthens Pakistan’s ability to plan for, and respond to, a nuclear or radiological emergency, it observed.

“The PNRA presented clear evidence of the actions they have taken to successfully address the IRRS initial mission findings from 2014,” said Rob Campbell, a senior nuclear regulator in the Office for Nuclear Regulation in the United Kingdom, and team leader for the review mission. “Completing this work should lead to sustainable improvements to the regulatory and nuclear safety framework within Pakistan.”

The mission team also offered observations about how the regulatory framework for nuclear safety in Pakistan might be further enhanced in the coming years. They said that Pakistan should consider joining the joint convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, and to invite an IAEA Integrated Review Service for Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management, Decommissioning and Remediation mission.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2022

 

[ghazi52]

Pakistan power project using China’s Hualong One connected to grid - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn

Are there any more reactors planned for this site?

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The Pakistan-China nuclear cooperation is successfully touching new heights as both nations had jointly constructed six nuclear power plants in the past three decades ..

PAEC had struck a deal with Chinese Nuclear energy firm China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) for the construction of four additional Hualong one Pressurized Nuclear Reactors commonly known as HPR-10000 in August 2021.

According to reports, the Chinese firm will construct two Hualong one nuclear reactors in Karachi (K-4 and K-5), and two similar reactors will be constructed at Muzaffargarh (M-1 and M-2) in the coming years.

Both China and Pakistan had laid the foundations of a substantial and long-term cooperation that would strengthen the Pakistan Nuclear Energy industry through the construction of additional nuclear plants, aiding uranium exploration, nuclear waste management, nuclear fuel, and nuclear technology application. Presently, Pakistan is in negotiation with the IAEA for the provision of IAEA’s nuclear safeguards for its nuclear power plants which would further pave the path for Pakistan- IAEA cooperation in the future. Pakistan has attained significant expertise in nuclear technology hence it should initiate dialogue with NSG for nuclear cooperation that could lead to its unhindered access to the latest nuclear technologies in the future.
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[ghazi52]

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Reactors operating in Pakistan

Reactor Name	Alternative Name	Model	Reactor Type	Net Capacity (MWe)	Construction Start	First Grid Connection
CHASNUPP-1	Chashma Nuclear Power Plant 1	CNP-300	PWR	300	1993-08	2000-06
CHASNUPP-2	Chashma Nuclear Power Plant 2	CNP-300	PWR	300	2005-12	2011-03
Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3	Chashma Nuclear Power Plant 3	CNP-300	PWR	315	2011-05	2016-10
Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4	Chashma Nuclear Power Plant 4	CNP-300	PWR	313	2011-12	2017-06
K-2	Karachi 2	HPR1000	PWR	1,014	2015-08	2021-03
K-3	Karachi 3	HPR1000	PWR	1,014	2016-05	2022-03

Nuclear Power in Pakistan - World Nuclear Association

Pakistan has six operating reactors. Because Pakistan is outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty due to its weapons programme, it is largely excluded from trade in nuclear plant or materials, which hinders its development of civil nuclear energy.

www.world-nuclear.org

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[ghazi52]

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Congratulations on the successful Signing Ceremony of Provisional Acceptance for K-3, another cooperation project between China and Pakistan.

K-2 and K-3 will provide nearly 20 bn Kwh of clean electricity to Pakistan annually, equivalent to reducing CO2 emissions by 16.32 million tons.

 

[ghazi52]

.,.,.,

 

[ghazi52]

,..,
The third unit of 1100mw (K-3) of Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) constructed with the partnership of China has been inaugurated.

This project will help meet the energy needs in the country. This plant will provide affordable energy which Pakistan badly needs.

Many other projects under CPEC are also going on in the country. Diamar Bhasha and Dasu dams under construction, will take another 4-5 years to be operational, Pakistan can get cheaper electricity from sun and wind, alternative energy projects in coming years.

 

[syed_yusuf]

,..,
The third unit of 1100mw (K-3) of Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) constructed with the partnership of China has been inaugurated.

This project will help meet the energy needs in the country. This plant will provide affordable energy which Pakistan badly needs.

Many other projects under CPEC are also going on in the country. Diamar Bhasha and Dasu dams under construction, will take another 4-5 years to be operational, Pakistan can get cheaper electricity from sun and wind, alternative energy projects in coming years.

Water, Solar, wind, Nuclear, Coal are the cheapest source of power

 

[ghazi52]

Future project
Chashma 5

In November 2010 the PAEC signed a construction agreement with CNNC for a fifth unit at Chashma. In February 2013 a further agreement was signed by PAEC with CNNC for a 1000 MWe unit at Chashma. It was reported that China expected that this deal would be controversial under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and guidelines of the NSG. Early in 2013 CNNC confirmed that the reactor would be an ACP1000 unit, though not necessarily at Chashma. In November 2017 CNNC signed a cooperation agreement with PAEC on the construction of Chashma 5 as a Hualong One unit. In 2020 an environmental assessment was under way.

Energy policy​

In July 2013 the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved about 3.5 GWe of new power projects totalling PKR 1303 billion ($12.4 billion), comprising 2200 MWe nuclear, 425 MWe gas combined cycle, and 969 MWe hydro. These are designed to reduce the high reliance on oil and to reduce power costs. All depend on Chinese support.

Electricity infrastructure is a significant part of the $51 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects from 2016 which will link Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang region to Pakistan’s deep-water port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.

The CPEC includes roads and railways running much of the length of Pakistan and funded by three Chinese banks, and a 4000 MW HVDC grid development costing $1.5 billion over 2017-18. Some $33 billion of the CPEC total is for energy infrastructure, notably 10 GWe of generating capacity by 2020, mostly coal-fired, which is expected to provide 24% of the country’s power by 2020. Lignite is the main fuel envisaged, from the Thar Desert region of Sindh.

CPEC projects are a significant element in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and are unprecedented in scale in Pakistan.

In 2005 the Energy Security Plan was adopted by the government, which called for a huge increase in generating capacity to more than 160 GWe by 2030. Significant power shortages are reported, and load shedding is common.

TABLE 5: STATUS AND PERFORMANCE OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Reactor Unit	Type	Net Capacity [MW(e)]	Status	Operator	Reactor Supplier	Construction Date	First Criticality Date	First Grid Date	Commercial Date	Shutdown Date	UCF for 2021
CHASNUPP-1	PWR	300	Operational	PAEC	CNNC	8/1/1993	5/3/2000	6/13/2000	9/15/2000		85.9
CHASNUPP-2	PWR	300	Operational	PAEC	CNNC	12/28/2005	2/22/2011	3/14/2011	5/18/2011		98.4
CHASNUPP-3	PWR	315	Operational	PAEC	CNNC	5/28/2011	8/1/2016	10/15/2016	12/6/2016		99.2
CHASNUPP-4	PWR	313	Operational	PAEC	CNNC	12/18/2011	3/15/2017	6/25/2017	9/19/2017		84.4
KANUPP-2	PWR	1014	Operational	PAEC	CZEC	8/20/2015	2/28/2021	3/18/2021	5/21/2021		98.6
KANUPP-3	PWR	1014	Operational	PAEC	CZEC	5/31/2016	2/21/2022	3/4/2022	4/18/2022		0.0
KANUPP-1	PHWR	90	Permanent Shutdown	PAEC	CGE	8/1/1966	8/1/1971	10/18/1971	12/7/1972	8/1/2021	30.7

 

[Ali_14]

There should be no worries as Pakistan is a non signatory to npt Pakistan has been producing cheap nuclear electricity and will keep on producing it