Pakistan inaugurates 5th nuclear power plant to solve energy crisis
Pakistan’s energy sector will receive a major boost as a 340 MegaWatt (MW) nuclear power plant was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday.
Country’s fifth nuclear power plant Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-4 (C-4) was inaugurated at Chashma, Mianwali area, in Punjab province.
PM Abbasi said that the nuclear plants were so the source of cheap energy and Pakistan needs such projects to meet growing demand for electricity.
Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-4 (C-4) has been made operational with tremendous effort from Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and China. The plant would pass through various functional and safety-related tests at full power.
“There is no doubt, these power projects would not have been possible without the cooperation of China and the Chinese people,” he said, as he invited China to invest further in Pakistan’s energy sector.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the plant, Abbasi said the project would help the country’s energy problem.
Pakistan’s government is committed to achieving the goal of adding 8,800MW of nuclear energy to the national grid by 2030, he said.
The Chashma nuclear power project units C-1, C-2 and C-3 have been successfully contributing to the national grid since 2000, 2011 and 2016, respectively.
Pakistan is also building two more nuclear power plants in Karachi, known as K-2 and K-3, which are scheduled to be operational in 2020 and 2021 respectively and will add 2,200MW electricity to the national grid.
PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also said that energy projects of more than 10,000 MW have helped overcome load-shedding and the government will be able to end it by November this year.
