PM Shehbaz breaks ground on 1,200MW Chashma-5 nuclear power plant

Terming it a “huge milestone”, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif performed on Friday the groundbreaking of 1,200-megawatt Chashma-5 nuclear power plant in Mianwali.

Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal and others including Chinese officials were also present.

Addressing the ceremony, the PM said that the Chashma-5 nuclear energy project, which is itself a “huge milestone, a huge success story and a wonderful symbol of cooperation between two great friends”.

“Detractors have been fabricating rumours that Pakistan was going to default on its sovereign payments, that its economy will be in shambles.

“The risk of potential default has been completely averted through team efforts from all the components of the government of Pakistan and all our institutions,” said the premier.

Background

Last month, China and Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a 1,200 MW Chashma-5 (C-5) nuclear power project worth $ 3.48 billion with earliest availability in 2029.

The estimated capital cost of the project under IGCEP 2018-40 was calculated at $ 4.777 billion, IGCEP 2022-30 at $ 5.678 billion, IGCEP 2031-46 at $ 4.952 billion and IGCEP 2047 at $ 4.5 billion.

Proposed 1200 MW plant is designed to have efficiency of 37% and economic life of 60 years. Based on technical parameters C-5 cost is expected to be around $4.952 billion while unit CAPAX comes to around $4,342/kW, sources added. However, Chinese government gave a discount of Rs30 billion.