Pakistan Nuclear Energy Developments

[zagahaga]

china zindabad

 

[sparklingway]

Does it mean that we need no such deal with US or France ?

No. We should look for broader relationships. The Pakistan Nuclear Power Fuel Complex (PNPFC) which was set up by the Pakistan-China Civilian Nuclear Technology Commission is moving at a slow pace.

Only NPPs can solve our future power demands and our power sector will have to transform itself to nuclear dependency just like France and Belgium. South Korea developed their own indigenous capability and are far ahead of us. The dismal state of our nuclear power sector is illustrated by the following graph:-


Source : IAEA (figures based on 2006 values)

Focusing too much on nuclear weapons made us blind when we looked at nuclear power. We have quite a significant amount of war heads and production will continue but for now we should focus almost our entire governmental nuclear sector towards energy production.

 

[BJlaowai]

Can China provide Pakistan, Nuclear technology and nuclear fuel for the plants, without the IAEA clearence?
China is a signitory of NPT and Pakistan has not. How do the two countries plan to have nuclear deals without China breaking the NPT and conditions of the Sino-US nuclear deal?
China is itself dependent on foreign technology for setting up new generation of Nuclear Power Plants and for Nuclear fuel. In such situation, will China take the risk of getting sanctioned for breaking NPT?
Is Pakistan planning to approach IAEA for the clearance?

 

[Hyde]

Can China provide Pakistan, Nuclear technology and nuclear fuel for the plants, without the IAEA clearence?
China is a signitory of NPT and Pakistan has not. How do the two countries plan to have nuclear deals without China breaking the NPT and conditions of the Sino-US nuclear deal?
China is itself dependent on foreign technology for setting up new generation of Nuclear Power Plants and for Nuclear fuel. In such situation, will China take the risk of getting sanctioned for breaking NPT?
Is Pakistan planning to approach IAEA for the clearance?

Actually this is not a new deal. We have been in discussion with China since many years now. I can remember the negotiations with china were going on before they became part of NPT. I am not sure about Chasnup 3 and 4 but i am sure about Chasnup 2 that some peoples raised questions those days that China is signatory to NPT and Pakistan is not so China should stop building the reactors for Pakistan and chinese Premier~ replied saying we signed the contract with Pakistan before NPT so this rule does not apply here. We are allowed to complete our promised projects.

I am not sure but i think Chasnup 3 and 4 is also being discussed way before china became signatory of NPT. So it is possible this rule will apply to these reactors also. I am not sure about these two reactors.......... just giving my thoughts

 

[ajpirzada]

chasnup 2 is already under construction. chasnup 3 and 4 had negotiations going on for a long time.
if im not wrong, IAEA already has access to chasnup 1.

 

[Hyde]

chasnup 2 is already under construction. chasnup 3 and 4 had negotiations going on for a long time.
if im not wrong, IAEA already has access to chasnup 1.

yes and the news you shared last week was about Chasnup-2...... it was supposed to be operational by the end of 2009 but later on i started hearing news December 2010 (some sources even claiming 2012 )

and the american source you shared was saying it is already an operational its construction started in 2002 by the way

 

[Comet]

Nuclear Power is by far the safest and cleanest way of making Electricity. I really believe that instead of using Gas for household uses(cooking etc)we should use Electricity. Of course, it is not possible now, but in future there will be no Gas and remember the side effects of burning Gas and Coal and Oil.

We can use coal from Thar to make a lot of electricity but there are problems.
1) Ecological Issue
2) We are part of Kyoto Protocol and cannot user Coal in excessive amounts.

Which means we are left with Hydro Power and Nuclear Power (Solar Energy is still expensive and we cannot make a lot of Wind Power Energy)

 

[Justin Joseph]

* Two plants with a capacity of 640 megawatts to be set up in Chashma
* China to provide 82% of total $1.912bn financing

By Sajid Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has entered a civil nuclear deal with China for the establishment of two nuclear power projects of 640 megawatts in Chashma, Daily Times has learnt.

The breakthrough deal – under which Pakistan would be provided a loan, technology and installation facilities – was finalised ahead of the latest round of the Pak-US strategic dialogue, as the federal cabinet granted financial approval at a meeting on March 24.

Sources privy to the deal said the federal cabinet had approved an inter-government framework agreement on the financing of ‘Chashma Nuclear Power Project 3’ and ‘Chashma Nuclear Power Project 4’ with China.

The sources said under the agreement, China would provide 82 percent of the total $1.912 billion financing to Pakistan as a 20-year soft loan, with an eight-year grace period.

In a bid to guarantee financing for the two plants, the inter-government framework agreement requires both countries to enter three loan agreements. Under the first loan agreement, Pakistan would be provided $104 million with an annual interest rate of 1 percent, management fee of 0.2 percent and a commitment fee of 0.2 percent. Under the second preferential buyer credit agreement, Pakistan would get $1 billion with an annual interest rate of 2 percent, a management fee of 0.2 percent and a commitment fee of 0.2 percent – while the third buyers credit agreement would provide Pakistan $474 million with an annual interest rate of 6 percent, a management fee of 0.75 percent, a commitment fee of 0.5 percent and an insurance rate of 7 percent.

However, according to the inter-government framework agreement, the annual composite interest rate would not exceed three percent in any case.

The sources said that frequent visits by President Asif Ali Zardar and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani helped secure the deal. They said the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) had already approved the two projects.

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission would be the executing agency for the establishment of the two plants – which would be completed in eight years.

The sources said each 320-megawatt unit would contain a nuclear steam supply system, a turbine-generator set and the associated auxiliary equipment and installations.


Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

Why china is giving a small nuke plant 320 MW, with total capacity of 640 MW only?

How it will solve power deficit of around 4500 MW in Pakistan??

This will be only drop in ocean as if i'm not wrong the demand of power in Pakistan is growing more than 10% per year.

By the time this plants become ready for electricity production the power deficits will be more than 10,000 MW.

So, one has to look for future and this will not even suffice present demands.

 

[ajpirzada]

yes and the news you shared last week was about Chasnup-2...... it was supposed to be operational by the end of 2009 but later on i started hearing news December 2010 (some sources even claiming 2012 )

and the american source you shared was saying it is already an operational its construction started in 2002 by the way

wasnt that khushab 2....
that one has to do nothing with china.

 

[iioal malik]

Sino Pak all the way bond of brothers

Now this is a good slap on the face of 2 countries guess which onecs??i guess u know them very well

 

[Justin Joseph]

Does it mean that we need no such deal with US or France ?

It depends, if you are satisfied with this deal.

And if you ask for my opinion then there are many benefits for international nuke deal over a regional nuke deal:

1. In true international deal will give you respect and recognition as nuclear state.

2. The NSG waiver will give you regular and diverse supply of uranium.

3. You will not dependent on a single country.

4. The chinese are not that advance and sophisticated with nuke reactors etc.

5. The France has the vast experience in running advance nuclear reactors.

6. Then there is the gain in hi-tech transfer and acess to the latest in the World from diffrent part of the world.

7. You get to choose what to purchase, in what quantities and from where.

8. You becomes chooser and in china deal you have to take whatever they will give it to you. You cant' dictate them.

And there are zillions of more benefits.

I think you have got your answer.

thanks

 

[ajpirzada]

^^ agreed. but for now this is better than nothing. also this is all we can afford at this moment.

 

[naved_kam]

Good development. I just have one question, what about the fuel supply gaurantee. Forgive me for being ignorant but is there enough uranium resources in Pakistan to run these reactors. I ask because till the Nuclear deal goes through, India does not have enough fuel to operate the curent installed nuclear energy capacity and the resources are being developed to the weapons program. How will Pakistan come around this. They will have the installed capacity but non-operational??

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Good development. I just have one question, what about the fuel supply gaurantee. Forgive me for being ignorant but is there enough uranium resources in Pakistan to run these reactors. I ask because till the Nuclear deal goes through, India does not have enough fuel to operate the curent installed nuclear energy capacity and the resources are being developed to the weapons program. How will Pakistan come around this. They will have the installed capacity but non-operational??

I believe Pakistan has significant Uranium reserves and has been mining and exploring them:

Pakistan has 1,000 uranium reserves: report​

April 14, 2007 18:26 IST

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission has claimed to have discovered around 1,000 uranium favourable sites, which could provide the required fuel for its proposed nuclear power plants.

Four of the 1000 sites were being mined and another nine with potential uranium reserves had been identified as very promising, Dawn quoted officials as saying.

"The effort was rewarded with the discovery of a large number of sites, which have indicated their potential for hosting uranium reserves," it said, quoting a latest official document.

It said that uranium favourable rocks constituted 12 per cent of the total areas of Pakistan.

"More than 65 per cent of the favourable sites have been scanned through airborne gamma-spectrometric and foot radiometry surveys for its potential, while 35 per cent is yet to be checked," the document said.

The initial exploration will be carried out throughout Pakistan using airborne, car-borne, foot survey, geo-chemical and geo-physical techniques to delineate anomalous sites.

After delineation of anomalous sites, a detailed exploration will be carried out by means of exploratory drilling to establish uranium reserves.

The officials said the PAEC had finalised a plan to establish more than 6,000 tons of reasonably assured reserves of uranium by 2011 to fulfil the one-third requirement of fuel for producing 8,800mw of nuclear power.

They said the government was expected to make available Rs 4.5 billion to the PAEC to implement a five-year uranium exploration programme (2006-2011) in the four provinces.

The plan is expected to ensure indigenous supply of fuel for country's future needs. An increased nuclear power will facilitate the overall industrial as well as infrastructure development.

A separate provision will be required for mining projects discovered as a result of these investigations.

"It is estimated that 350 tons of yellow cake (U3O8) will be required annually to achieve the target of 8,800mw of nuclear power. Therefore, the initiation of effort to bridge the gap between demand and supply of nuclear fuel is the need of the time," the document said.

The exploration to establish additional uranium reserves will be carried out through the establishment of mineral sector of the PAEC, including the Atomic Energy Minerals Centre, Lahore, and Detailed Exploration for Uranium projects in Kohat and Dera Ghazi Khan.

At present there are two nuclear power plants, which produce 380mw of electricity -- 80mw KANUPP and 300mw CHASNUPP-1. For these, the PAEC mineral sector is partially fulfilling the requirement of uranium.

The document said that country's electricity supply and demand gap needed to be bridged with additional generation of electricity through various sources -- hydro, thermal, nuclear and solar.

The share of nuclear sector is presently very low for which the PAEC has embarked upon a programme for the installation of several nuclear power plants in the coming years.


Pakistan has 1,000 uranium reserves: report

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

yes and the news you shared last week was about Chasnup-2...... it was supposed to be operational by the end of 2009 but later on i started hearing news December 2010 (some sources even claiming 2012 )

and the american source you shared was saying it is already an operational its construction started in 2002 by the way

That was in reference to the Khushab reactor that will likely be used for military purposes.

Chashma 2 is supposed to be operational by 2012.