Agreement reached for Chashma unit 5

Wednesday, 21 June 2023

Speaking on state-run news channel PTV following the signing of the memorandum of understanding between China National Nuclear Cooperation (CNNC) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Sharif said construction of Chashma 5 will begin immediately.

He noted the decision to start this project had been taken and the main conditions were agreed during the  government of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In November 2017, CNNC and PAEC signed a cooperation agreement on the construction of a Hualong One reactor as Chashma unit 5. The project was originally planned to start around 2021 but it was delayed under the following government.

Sharif, who became prime minister last year, said that due to higher international inflation, the project cost would have been much higher than that determined in 2017-18, the Daily Times reported. However, the Chinese government not only "abstained from raising the cost according to the inflation but also gave a discount of around Rs30 billion (USD105 million)".

"We are deeply obliged to President Xi, Chinese leadership, sincere thanks to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team for working hard to strike the agreement with the Chinese counterpart," he said. "Investment from China in this project to the tune of USD4.8 billion sends a message loud and clear that Pakistan is a place where Chinese companies and investors continue to show their trust and faith."

The Chashma site - also referred to as Chasnupp - is already home to four Chinese-supplied CNP-300 pressurised water reactors, which were connected to the grid between 2000 and 2017.

Two 1161 MWe Chinese-supplied Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors have been constructed as units 2 and 3 of the Karachi plant in Sindh province, marking the first exports of CNNC's Hualong One design. Construction of unit 2 began in 2015 and unit 3 in 2016. These entered commercial operation in May 2021 and April 2022, respectively.