Pakistan, China agree to build Chashma 5

Thursday, 23 November 2017

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) have signed a cooperation agreement on the construction of a HPR1000 Hualong One reactor at the Chashma nuclear power plant.

The agreement was signed by the chairmen of CNNC and PAEC (Image: CNNC)

"According to the agreement, CNNC will build a one-million-kilowatt-class nuclear power unit with HPR1000 technology at the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant in Pakistan," CNNC said yesterday. The reactor will be the seventh nuclear power unit that China has exported to Pakistan and the third HPR1000.

The Chinese-designed HPR1000 Hualong One reactor design is under construction in China, at Fuqing units 5 and 6 and Fangchenggang units 3 and 4. The first Hualong One unit, Fuqing 5, is expected to start up in 2019, with Fangchenggang 3 to follow the same year, and the other two units in 2020.

Chashma is already home to four Chinese-built CNP-300 units, while two HPR1000 units are under construction at Pakistan's Karachi nuclear power plant. Construction began on Karachi unit 2 in 2015 and unit 3 in 2016; the units are planned to enter commercial operation in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

The HPR1000 has also been proposed for construction at Bradwell in the UK, where it is undergoing Generic Design Assessment. UK national regulatory bodies the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency recently announced the start of the second, technical, phase of the assessment programme for the UK HPR1000.

Chashma 5 will be constructed by CNNC subsidiary CNNC China Zhongyuan Engineering Corp, the company said.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News