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Pakistan Breaks Ground on Nuclear Plant Project With China
By SALMAN MASOOD and CHRIS BUCKLEY
Published: November 26, 2013
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday ceremonially broke ground on a $9.59 billion nuclear power complex to be built in Karachi with China’s help, seeking to ease Pakistan’s long-running energy crisis and signaling a new step by China in becoming a top nuclear supplier.
The deal, which officials said was still being finalized, is a major new advance in energy cooperation between the two countries, dwarfing previous reactor projects built along with China at Chashma, in Pakistan’s interior. And it establishes a growing counterpoint to a nuclear axis between the United States and India in recent years that Pakistani officials have seen as an irritant and Chinese officials have seen as a geopolitical challenge.
“The beginning of the 2,200-megawatt power project is indeed a proud moment in the energy history of Pakistan,” Mr. Sharif said at the ceremony, adding that the construction was to be completed in six years. The Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Sun Weidong, and officials from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission attended.
Energy supply remains one of the most pressing concerns in Pakistan, and it was a major issue in the general elections last May, when Mr. Sharif promised in his campaign speeches to end crippling shortages that have hobbled the economy. After taking office, his first visit was to China, where he discussed the nuclear power plant project.
Officials said the new project is to be built around two new-model Chinese ACP-1000 nuclear reactors, with China also providing enriched uranium for fuel.
However, Pakistani officials have provided few details of how they plan to finance it. In September, the International Monetary Fund approved a $6.6 billion loan to help stabilize Pakistan’s struggling economy and tackle the energy crisis.
Mr. Sharif did not mention financing in his speech, but he said that he has assured the Chinese investors that his government “will support them in every way.”
China has signaled its intent to expand nuclear energy cooperation with Pakistan in joint statements from their leaders, said Zhang Li, an expert on Pakistan at the Institute of South Asian Studies at Sichuan University in southwest China.
“Both countries have expressed their willingness to expand cooperation in civilian nuclear energy,” Mr. Zhang said in a telephone interview. “In that sense, you didn’t need a crystal ball to see this project coming.”
The new project is not without potential controversy. In the years since China and Pakistan agreed to build the first reactor at Chashma, China has joined both the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an agreement by 47 countries to limit exports of nuclear technology and materials.
Mr. Zhang said that China is almost certain to deem the new projects as a “grandfathered” extension of the countries’ earlier nuclear deals signed before China joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group. That means China would not consider seeking approval for the reactors from the group, which has few teeth to deal with members who ignore its rules, according to nuclear analysts.
“My analysis is that this issue won’t trigger too much controversy,” Mr. Zhang said. “The Indian government will certainly respond, but I don’t think that this will fundamentally harm Sino-Indian relations, because it’s not something that has come out of the blue. China and India have exchanged views on this many times.”
On the supplier group’s likely response, Mr. Zhang said: “I don’t think the N.S.G. will formally raise this issue, because the experience in the past was that the members would reach an implicit understanding, and so this issue never caused a big fuss in previous N.S.G. meetings.”
One of the main events considered to have weakened the Nuclear Suppliers Group, in fact, was the 2005 commercial nuclear deal between the United States and India, which like Pakistan developed nuclear weapons in the face of global pressure. The deal has been a lasting source of outrage for Pakistani officials.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not commented on the project with Pakistan. But in the past, it has said that China’s nuclear cooperation with Pakistan is entirely peaceful and comes under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
Pakistan has also sought to bridge its energy shortfall through a gas pipeline deal with Iran. That has been hung up by international sanctions against Iran, but Pakistani officials have continued to push for it. On Tuesday, Mr. Sharif’s chief foreign policy adviser, Sartaj Aziz, was in Iran to discuss the project.
Mr. Sharif on Tuesday also announced plans to build six more nuclear plants in other parts of the country. But Mr. Zhang said that China was unlikely to build any more nuclear reactors in Pakistan beyond the two units in Karachi. The choice of Karachi is significant because it is considered Pakistan’s economic and trade center, and its coastal location also provides ample water for use in reactor cooling.
“Today people look with envy toward cities like Dubai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore,” Mr. Sharif said in his speech, which was broadcast live. “I wish to see Karachi in this list of harbors and industrial hubs.”
Salman Masood reported from Islamabad, and Chris Buckley from Hong Kong.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/w...lant-project-with-china.html?hpw&rref=science
By SALMAN MASOOD and CHRIS BUCKLEY
Published: November 26, 2013
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday ceremonially broke ground on a $9.59 billion nuclear power complex to be built in Karachi with China’s help, seeking to ease Pakistan’s long-running energy crisis and signaling a new step by China in becoming a top nuclear supplier.
The deal, which officials said was still being finalized, is a major new advance in energy cooperation between the two countries, dwarfing previous reactor projects built along with China at Chashma, in Pakistan’s interior. And it establishes a growing counterpoint to a nuclear axis between the United States and India in recent years that Pakistani officials have seen as an irritant and Chinese officials have seen as a geopolitical challenge.
“The beginning of the 2,200-megawatt power project is indeed a proud moment in the energy history of Pakistan,” Mr. Sharif said at the ceremony, adding that the construction was to be completed in six years. The Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Sun Weidong, and officials from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission attended.
Energy supply remains one of the most pressing concerns in Pakistan, and it was a major issue in the general elections last May, when Mr. Sharif promised in his campaign speeches to end crippling shortages that have hobbled the economy. After taking office, his first visit was to China, where he discussed the nuclear power plant project.
Officials said the new project is to be built around two new-model Chinese ACP-1000 nuclear reactors, with China also providing enriched uranium for fuel.
However, Pakistani officials have provided few details of how they plan to finance it. In September, the International Monetary Fund approved a $6.6 billion loan to help stabilize Pakistan’s struggling economy and tackle the energy crisis.
Mr. Sharif did not mention financing in his speech, but he said that he has assured the Chinese investors that his government “will support them in every way.”
China has signaled its intent to expand nuclear energy cooperation with Pakistan in joint statements from their leaders, said Zhang Li, an expert on Pakistan at the Institute of South Asian Studies at Sichuan University in southwest China.
“Both countries have expressed their willingness to expand cooperation in civilian nuclear energy,” Mr. Zhang said in a telephone interview. “In that sense, you didn’t need a crystal ball to see this project coming.”
The new project is not without potential controversy. In the years since China and Pakistan agreed to build the first reactor at Chashma, China has joined both the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an agreement by 47 countries to limit exports of nuclear technology and materials.
Mr. Zhang said that China is almost certain to deem the new projects as a “grandfathered” extension of the countries’ earlier nuclear deals signed before China joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group. That means China would not consider seeking approval for the reactors from the group, which has few teeth to deal with members who ignore its rules, according to nuclear analysts.
“My analysis is that this issue won’t trigger too much controversy,” Mr. Zhang said. “The Indian government will certainly respond, but I don’t think that this will fundamentally harm Sino-Indian relations, because it’s not something that has come out of the blue. China and India have exchanged views on this many times.”
On the supplier group’s likely response, Mr. Zhang said: “I don’t think the N.S.G. will formally raise this issue, because the experience in the past was that the members would reach an implicit understanding, and so this issue never caused a big fuss in previous N.S.G. meetings.”
One of the main events considered to have weakened the Nuclear Suppliers Group, in fact, was the 2005 commercial nuclear deal between the United States and India, which like Pakistan developed nuclear weapons in the face of global pressure. The deal has been a lasting source of outrage for Pakistani officials.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not commented on the project with Pakistan. But in the past, it has said that China’s nuclear cooperation with Pakistan is entirely peaceful and comes under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
Pakistan has also sought to bridge its energy shortfall through a gas pipeline deal with Iran. That has been hung up by international sanctions against Iran, but Pakistani officials have continued to push for it. On Tuesday, Mr. Sharif’s chief foreign policy adviser, Sartaj Aziz, was in Iran to discuss the project.
Mr. Sharif on Tuesday also announced plans to build six more nuclear plants in other parts of the country. But Mr. Zhang said that China was unlikely to build any more nuclear reactors in Pakistan beyond the two units in Karachi. The choice of Karachi is significant because it is considered Pakistan’s economic and trade center, and its coastal location also provides ample water for use in reactor cooling.
“Today people look with envy toward cities like Dubai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore,” Mr. Sharif said in his speech, which was broadcast live. “I wish to see Karachi in this list of harbors and industrial hubs.”
Salman Masood reported from Islamabad, and Chris Buckley from Hong Kong.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/w...lant-project-with-china.html?hpw&rref=science
