Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today launched the construction of Pakistan's largest nuclear power project to be built with Chinese help to generate 2,200 MW and said the country intends to build six more atomic plants.
The Karachi Coastal Power Project, comprising the K-2 and K-3 nuclear plants, is being built at Paradise Beach, located 40 km from the country's largest city.
"This is one of the first steps of our goal of racing towards a load-shedding free Pakistan. I am grateful to the Chinese government for extending help and support to Pakistan in this hour of need," Sharif told the gathering at the groundbreaking ceremony.
He said six more sites had been identified for setting up nuclear power plants and these projects would get his "full support".
Cities across Pakistan face several hours of power cuts every day and Sharif made the energy crisis one of his government's priorities after coming to power in June.
Sharif recalled that the contract for Pakistan's first nuclear power plant, also of Chinese origin, was signed in his first term as premier during 1990-93. "This laid the foundations of a project-based cooperation between the two countries in the field of nuclear power," he said.
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission personnel will work on the project in Karachi with engineers from the China Atomic Energy Authority. The World Nuclear Association has estimated the cost of the project, expected to be completed in 72 months, at nearly USD 10 billion.
Pakistan has three operational nuclear plants that generate about 740 MW and is currently working on two more, including the one launched today in Karachi.
Several countries, including the US, have expressed concern at China's role in setting up new nuclear power plants in Pakistan, saying the projects violate international guidelines. Pakistan and China have dismissed these concerns.