A second nuclear power plant adjacent to the existing one near the Chashma Barrage on the left bank of River Indus, is going to be built with Chinese assistance and is likely to be commissioned by the year 2012.
The contract for the project was signed last Tuesday by the Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Pervez Butt, and Kang Ri Xin, President of Chinese National Nuclear Corporation.
The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali and the visiting Chinese delegation led by Vice Minister Zhang Hua Zhu, head of the Chinese Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence who is also the Chairman of the Chinese Atomic Energy Authority.
An MoU for the project was signed between the two countries on March 24, 2003 during the official visit of Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali to China. Subsequently, President General Pervez Musharraf finalised the deal during his visit to China in November, 2003.
In fact, a provision had also been made in the blue-print of the first Chashma Nuclear Project, known as Chashnupp, for the possibility of accommodating a second project.
The pre-investment feasibility study for the new plant was completed by the PAEC, which was approved at a meeting of the Ecnec.
Thus the expectations of a second project described as Chashnupp-2 cherished by the PAEC even before the first project was taken up for implementation, have come true, thanks to the liberal co-operation extended to Pakistan by the Chinese government not only with regard to this project but for all schemes of economic development in Pakistan, including the construction of the Gwadar Port.
According to the international standards, a nuclear power plant is viable with a capacity of 750 megawatt which would enable the production cost per unit to be reduced to the minimum level, which is electricity produced indeed lower than the production of cost hydroelectricity.
It may be pointed out here that although a hydropower plant has the advantage of producing electricity at cheaper cost it involves hazards of seasonal sharp declines in production due to fall in water levels in rivers in the summer seasons and consequent fluctuations in the supply of electricity.
This sort of disadvantage is completely eliminated in the case of nuclear power plants which are also known for minimum emission of pollutants as compared to other sources of power generation.
Pakistan has an experience of over 30 years in the operation of its first nuclear power plant at Karachi (KANUPP).
The withdrawal of support from the foreign country, which had assisted in the establishment of KANUPP, in the supply of spare parts and maintenance know-how back in 1976, rather proved to be a blessing in disguise for Pakistan.
The situation confronted our engineers and workers with a challenge, and they not only carried out the overhauling successfully but also locally produced necessary spares and parts.
The successful running of this plant by Pakistani engineers and workers was also certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which regularly monitors the working of nuclear power plants within the framework of the safeguards which are to be strictly observed.
Pakistan's experience in this field has been further enriched by the establishment and operation of the first Chashma Nuclear Power Plant and thus the country has almost reached the stage of self-reliance in this technology.
In order to upgrade the nuclear power generation facility at Chashma and to make it an economic-size project, a third plant of a minimum capacity of 150 megawatt may be set up at a future date.
In view of the availability of infrastructure facilities at the site combined with considerable measure of maturity of our engineers in this technology, a third project of smaller size may not prove to be a difficult task to do independent of foreign technical assistance.
The sustained process of expansion in nuclear power generation in the country is undoubtedly a highly significant step forward in our development efforts. The availability of adequate power supply at a cheaper cost would naturally go a long way to step up the pace of industrialisation and other development activity in the country over the years.
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