What's new

Pakistan to start work on 1100MW Nuclear Power Plant

Right! China's Three Gorges Dam produces 22,500 MW of power and cost < $25 billion to build. That's a little over $1 billion for every 1000MW.

In contrast, the Pakistan government would be spending $9 billion - almost 9 times the amount - for 1100MW!!! Not cost effective at all. You will be screwed paying half your hard earned salary towards payment of electricity bills for your home, as the tariffs will be incredible high! Since there are no free lunches, the government will squeeze you guys till you bleed as they would need to pay back the loans which probably would be financed mostly by the ADB/World Bank/IMF.

self-deleted. I misread your comment.

...................

I think its not a good idea

Care to explain why?
 
Nothing is fishy now a day all reactor is like that Indian is paying 10 Billion $ for 1000 MW reactor each. It will generate cheap electricity and will return back all money in 10 to 15 years and rest 45 years is your profit. It is latest gen (3rd gen) reactor so it will enhance Pakistan nuclear technology know how.

Overnight capital costs were originally projected at $1200 per kilowatt and modular design is expected to reduce construction time eventually to 36 months. The AP1000 generating costs are also expected to be very competitive and it has a 60-year operating life. It is being built in China (4 units under construction, with many more to follow) and is under active consideration for building in Europe and USA. It is capable of running on a full MOX core if required.

Please check below address for additional info

Advanced Nuclear Power Reactors | Generation III+ Nuclear Reactors

India is spending $10-15 billion for 10,000 MWs n not 1000 MW at Jaitapur, Maharastra.

Even if we end up spending $20 billion at Jaitapur it would still be $2 billion per 1000 MW as against Pakistan's $9.5 MW for 1100MW....:)
 
I think its a typo. No way it could be $9.5 billion. The cost of 300MW power plant at Chashma procured from China were in ranges of $340-400 millions. IMHO it is PKR 95 billion. Any how this detail below might help.

Nuclear Power in Pakistan

(updated 16 April 2013)

Pakistan has a small nuclear power program, with 725 MWe capacity, but plans to increase this substantially.
Pakistan's nuclear weapons capabilities of has arisen independently of the civil nuclear fuel cycle, using indigenous uranium.
Because Pakistan is outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, due to its weapons program, it is largely excluded from trade in nuclear plant or materials, which hinders its development of civil nuclear energy.

Pakistan in 2010 produced 94.5 billion kWh of electricity, 33 TWh of this from oil, 26 from natural gas and 32 from hydro. Nuclear power makes a small contribution to total energy production and requirements, supplying only 3.8 TWh (3.8% of the electricity in 2011). Consumption in 2010 was about 77 billion kWh after 16% transmission losses. There was no import or export. Total installed capacity is about 20 GWe, but often only about 12 GWe is operable. In 2005 an Energy Security Plan was adopted by the government, calling for a huge increase in generating capacity to more than 160 GWe by 2030. Significant power shortages are reported, and load shedding is common.
Nuclear power

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is responsible for all nuclear energy and research applications in the country.

Its first nuclear power reactor is a small 137 MWe (125 MWe net) Canadian pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) which started up in 1971 and which is under international safeguards - KANUPP near Karachi. It is operated at reduced power.

The second unit is Chashma-1 in Punjab in the north, a 325 MWe (300 MWe net) 2-loop pressurised water reactor (PWR) supplied by China's CNNC under safeguards. The main part of the plant was designed by Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (SNERDI), based on Qinshan-1. It started up in May 2000 and is also known as CHASNUPP-1. Designed life span is 40 years. It, and the following 3 units, were built using international design codes and standards.

Construction of its twin, Chashma-2, started in December 2005. It is reported to cost PKR 51.46 billion (US$ 860 million, with $350 million of this financed by China). A safeguards agreement with IAEA was signed in 2006 and grid connection was in March 2011, with commercial operation in May.

Operating Reactors in Pakistan
Reactor Type MWe net Construction start Commercial operation Planned close
Karachi 1 PHWR 125 1966 12/72 2019
Chashma 1 PWR 300 June 2000 2040
Chashma 2 PWR 300 2005 May 2011 2051
Total (3) 25 operating

Karachi is also known as KANUPP, Chashma as CHASNUPP.

Enriched fuel for the PWRs is imported from China.

The 2005 Energy Security Plan included intention of lifting nuclear capacity to 8800 MWe, 900 MWe of this by 2015 and a further 1500 MWe by 2020. Projections included four further Chinese reactors of 300 MWe each and seven of 1000 MWe, all PWR. There were tentative plans for China to build two 1000 MWe PWR units at Karachi as KANUPP 2 & 3, but China then in 2007 deferred development of its CNP-1000 type which would have been the only one of that size able to be exported. Pakistan is now planning to build smaller units with higher local content.
Chashma 3 & 4

In June 2008 the government announced plans to build units 3 and 4 at Chashma, each 320 MWe gross and largely financed by China. A further agreement for China's help with the project was signed in October 2008, and given prominence as a counter to the US-India agreement shortly preceding it.

In March 2009 China's SNERDI announced that it was proceeding with design of Chashma 3 & 4, with China Zhongyuan Engineering Corp (CZEC) as the general contractor and China Nuclear Industry No.5 Construction Company as installer. In April 2009, a design contract with SNERDI was signed, and the government said that it had approved the project at a cost of $2.37 billion, with $1.75 billion of this involving "a foreign exchange component". In March 2010 Pakistan announced that it had agreed the terms for Chashma 3 & 4, whereby China would provide 82% of the total US$ 1.912 billion financing as three 20-year low-interest loans. The main construction contract was signed in June 2010, and the two 340 MWe (315 MWe net) units are to be completed in eight years. They will have a design life of 40 years and be under IAEA safeguards. Construction of unit 3 officially started at the end of May 2011, and unit 4 in December 2011. The dome of unit 3 was fitted in March 2013.

In April 2013 it was reported that the PAEC would receive a significant increase in budget appropriation to expedite construction of Chashma 3 & 4.

However, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) raised some questions about China's supply of Chasma-3 & 4. Contracts for units 1 & 2 were signed in 1990 and 2000 respectively, before 2004 when China joined the NSG, which maintains an embargo on sales of nuclear equipment to Pakistan. China argued that units 3 & 4 are similarly "grandfathered", and arrangements are consistent with those for units 1 & 2.
Chashma 5

In November 2010 the PAEC is reported to have signed a construction agreement with China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) for a fifth unit at Chashma, which may revive the prospect of a 1000 MWe class unit if China has an exportable model by 2013 as planned. 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 NPT and guidelines of the NSG. In March 2013 China confirmed its intention to build a 1000 MWe reactor at Chashma.
Further nuclear capacity

In August 2011 it was reported that Pakistan aimed for 8000 MWe nuclear at ten sites by 2030. PAEC has apparently selected six new sites on the basis of the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) advice. These are Qadirabad-Bulloki (QB) link canal near Qadirabad Headworks; Dera Ghazi Khan canal near Tuansa Barrage; Taunsa-Punjnad canal near Multan; Nara canal near Sukkur; Pat Feeder canal near Guddu and Kabul River near Nowshera. Early in 2012 PAEC was considering two coastal sites near Karachi for two 1000 MWe reactors, and said that four more were planned for the Taunsa-Punjnad canal near Multan in Punjab.

Nuclear Power Reactors Under Construction, Planned and Proposed
Reactor Type MWe gross Construction Start Planned Commercial Operation
Chashma 3 PWR 340 May 2011 Dec 2016
Chashma 4 PWR 340 Dec 2011 October 2017
Chashmas 5 PWR 1000?
Karachi 2 & 3 2 x 1000
Fuel cycle

The government has set a target of producing 350 tonnes U3O8 per year from 2015 to meet one third of anticipated requirements then. Low-grade ore is known in central Punjab at Bannu Basin and Suleman Range.

A small (15,000 SWU/yr) uranium centrifuge enrichment plant at Kahuta has been operated since 1984 and does not have any apparent civil use. It was expanded threefold about 1991. A newer plant is reported to be at Gadwal. It is not under safeguards. It is not clear whether PAEC has any involvement with these plants.

Enriched fuel for the PWRs is imported from China.

In 2006 the PAEC announced that it was preparing to set up separate and purely civil conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication plants as a new US$ 1.2 billion Pakistan Nuclear Power Fuel Complex (NPFC) for PWR-type reactors which would be under IAEA safeguards and managed separately from existing facilities. At least the enrichment plant would be built at Chak Jhumra, Faisalabad, in the Punjab and have a 150,000 SWU/yr capacity in five years - about 2013, then be expanded in 150,000 SWU increments to be able to supply one third of the enrichment requirements for a planned 8800 MWe generating capacity by 2030.

However, if Pakistan cannot obtain exemption for Nuclear Suppliers' Group trade sanctions in order to build more nuclear power capacity and obtain more uranium in the near future, there may be no point in proceeding with this civil Fuel Complex.
Wastes

The PAEC has responsibility for radioactive waste management. A Radioactive Waste Management Fund is proposed in a new policy. Waste Management Centres are proposed for Karachi and Chashma.

Used fuel is currently stored at each reactor in pools. Longer-term dry storage at each site is proposed. The question of future reprocessing remains open.

A National Repository for low- and intermediate-level wastes is due to be commissioned by 2015.
Regulation

The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority is responsible for licensing and supervision, and in respect to the Chashma reactors it works closely with China's NNSA. It was formed in 2001, superseding the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Board (set up by PAEC) and the Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection.
R&D and other activities

The Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology (PINSTECH) 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.

New Labs 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.

A larger "multipurpose" reactor, a 50 MWt PHWR near Khushab, 200 km south of Islamabad, started operating in 1998 and is evidently for producing weapons-grade plutonium. A larger heavy water reactor was built at Khushab from about 2002, and appeared to be operational at the end of 2009. In 2006 building of a third reactor, similar to the second, started at the site, with construction proceeding rapidly. A similar, fourth reactor has started construction there, and was observed to be about half complete in May 2012. These apparently 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 a second reprocessing plant is apparently under construction there.

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 1981.
Non-proliferation

Pakistan is not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 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 came into force in April 2011. Pakistan has refused calls for international inspections of its enrichment activities.

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 weapon 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.

Through the activities of Abdul Q.Khan, a centrifuge plant and nuclear weapons designs were supplied clandestinely to Libya from the late 1990s to 2003 to furbish a weapons program there. He also transferred centrifuge technology to North Korea in the 1990s, and to Iran.

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

Nuclear Power in Pakistan
 
Approximate Capex requirement to setup a large power plant in India

Coal based: $1 Million/MW
Gas Based: $.8-1 Million/MW
Hyro : $1.5 Million/MW
Wind : $2 Million/MW

$9.5 Billion for 1100 MW implies around $8.6 million per MW
Seems too high
 
ISLAMABAD:

The government has decided to go ahead with work on a 1,100-megawatt nuclear power plant in Karachi with Chinese assistance from the next financial year in an effort to ease energy shortages in the country.

According to sources, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) will build the power plant named Karachi Coastal Power and costing an estimated $9.5 billion.

At present, Pakistan has two nuclear power plants – Chashma 1 and 2 – each with a capacity of 320MW and built with Chinese assistance. Work on Chashma 3 and 4 power plants is also under way.

Officials say of the total cost of Rs950 billion ($9.5 billion) for Karachi Coastal Power, the government is likely to allocate Rs7.5 billion in the budget for the next financial year, beginning July. Apart from this, it is planning to secure Rs65 billion in foreign lending to give a push to the project.

The government is also in contact with China to purchase two nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of 2,000MW, which will be utilised for setting up Karachi Nuclear Power Plant-2 (Kanupp-2) and Kanupp-3 to tackle the energy crisis.

In case of Kanupp-2 and 3, the Planning Commission had said Chinese company – China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) – may be asked to grant intellectual property rights and suggest steps that could help Pakistan avoid violation of property rights.

“In case of 1,100MW Karachi Coastal Power, Pakistan will also require intellectual property rights,” an official said.

China has three state-owned corporations that can own and operate nuclear power plants including CNNC, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Company (CGNPC) and China Power Investment Corporation (CPIC).

CGNPC operates four nuclear power plants of 3,758MW in China and is also associated with 16 other under-construction projects having capacity of 25,000MW. The company’s main focus has been on three-loop 1,000MW plants.

In an attempt to increase power generation, Pakistan is turning attention to producing nuclear energy on a relatively bigger scale. According to the Energy Security Action Plan, the share of nuclear power will be increased in electricity production by installing 8,800MW nuclear power plants by 2030.

Nuclear plants will provide electricity at cheaper rates compared to power produced from thermal sources. At present, the country is experiencing a widening gap between power supply and demand, leading to extensive outages that disrupt life and business and shaves three percentage points off economic growth annually.

Govt to kick off work on 1,100MW nuclear power plant – The Express Tribune

I think its not a good idea

can anybody explain highlighted points......??
 
Good news. Should happen as soon as possible :china::pakistan:

I am still hoping for Thar Coal power project, Bhasha & Kala Bagh dam.
 
Back
Top Bottom