<p>Energy-starved Pakistan has approved the construction of two China-assisted nuclear power plants near here, ignoring concerns of civil society groups over the project's proximity to the country's biggest city and a lack of proper evacuation plan in case of emergency.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Sindh Environmental Protection Agency has accorded the approval to the project's environmental impact assessment (EIA) report and allowed its construction at Paradise Point, Dawn reported today.<br /><br />The Paradise Point -- an earthquake-prone seafront vulnerable to tsunamis -- is a popular beach on the outskirts of the Karachi, whose population has doubled in just the past two decades to more than 20 million.<br /><br />The project -— K-2 and K-3 nuclear power plants of 1,100MW each -— is to be built by a Chinese company while the government agency involved in the project is the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).<br /><br />The representatives of civil society organisations have publicly raised a number of reservations over the construction of the twin nuclear power plants.<br /><br />The concerns ranged from the close proximity of the project to the city, failure of the PAEC to conduct a fresh EIA, to the lack of a proper evacuation plan in case of an emergency.<br /><br />The EIA report of the PAEC has restricted the evacuation plan to only 5 kilometres, though critics of the project are of the opinion that the entire city is at a risk of nuclear radiation exposure given the fact that the wind blows from the plant's site to Karachi most part of the year.<br /><br />The environmental agency, however, has allowed the PAEC to build the project at Paradise Point, without asking the commission to increase the area in the evacuation plan.<br /><br />The EIA report was approved following a public hearing which was held on the orders of the Sindh High Court, which had stayed the construction of the project last year.<br /><br />Pakistan has three operative nuclear power plants, including the Canadian-built reactor in Karachi.</p>
<p>Energy-starved Pakistan has approved the construction of two China-assisted nuclear power plants near here, ignoring concerns of civil society groups over the project's proximity to the country's biggest city and a lack of proper evacuation plan in case of emergency.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Sindh Environmental Protection Agency has accorded the approval to the project's environmental impact assessment (EIA) report and allowed its construction at Paradise Point, Dawn reported today.<br /><br />The Paradise Point -- an earthquake-prone seafront vulnerable to tsunamis -- is a popular beach on the outskirts of the Karachi, whose population has doubled in just the past two decades to more than 20 million.<br /><br />The project -— K-2 and K-3 nuclear power plants of 1,100MW each -— is to be built by a Chinese company while the government agency involved in the project is the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).<br /><br />The representatives of civil society organisations have publicly raised a number of reservations over the construction of the twin nuclear power plants.<br /><br />The concerns ranged from the close proximity of the project to the city, failure of the PAEC to conduct a fresh EIA, to the lack of a proper evacuation plan in case of an emergency.<br /><br />The EIA report of the PAEC has restricted the evacuation plan to only 5 kilometres, though critics of the project are of the opinion that the entire city is at a risk of nuclear radiation exposure given the fact that the wind blows from the plant's site to Karachi most part of the year.<br /><br />The environmental agency, however, has allowed the PAEC to build the project at Paradise Point, without asking the commission to increase the area in the evacuation plan.<br /><br />The EIA report was approved following a public hearing which was held on the orders of the Sindh High Court, which had stayed the construction of the project last year.<br /><br />Pakistan has three operative nuclear power plants, including the Canadian-built reactor in Karachi.</p>