Chashma-III Power Project Mianwali will contribute 340 MW power to National Grid.
Pakistan government endeavors to meet current energy crises in the country with the launch of new power plant.
Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif inaugurated Chashma Nuclear Project – III near Mianwali. Minister for Water and Power Khwaja Muhammad Asif and Advisor for Foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz also attended the inauguration ceremony.
The 340 Mega Watt Nuclear Power Plant is a joint collaboration of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the prime minister said, “Ending loadshedding is one of our top priorities” and reiterated his government’s commitment to end loadshedding by 2018.
PM Nawaz said the Chashma-III nuclear power plant will add 600MW to the national grid, adding that it will also help PAEC in achieving the overall target of 8,000MW. He also directed the PAEC to accelerate the production of nuclear power plants.
After successful completion of Chashma-I and Chashma-II projects China National Nuclear Corporation, it is expected that about 340 megawatts of electricity will be added to the National Grid Station. The project will support national power grid to supply required energy to Industrial Zones and Commercial Sectors for the economic development of the Pakistan.
The ongoing power project Chashma IV Nuclear Power Plant, which will be completed by 2017, and Karachi Nuclear Power Projects K-2 and K-3 jointly will supply about 8,800 megawatts to the National Power Station by 2030.
All Nuclear Power Projects, including Chashma-III have been approved by Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority for Nuclear Safeguards as per International Atomic Energy Agency agreements thereby maintaining highest safety standards.
In a speech to the gathering on 15 December, Prime Minister of Pakistan said “I am confident that the government will be able to eliminate load shedding so people are finally relieved of the suffering once and for all”.
Prime Minister announced to kick out load shedding and assured that all scheduled outages would end before the next election, likely to be in May, 2018.
‘CPEC to strengthen Pakistan-China friendship’
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the Chashma Nuclear Project-III is a concrete example of nuclear cooperation between Pakistan and China and brings Pakistan closer to its goal of eliminating loadshedding.
The Prime Minister, in his address, invited Chinese firms to invest in nuclear power projects in Pakistan. “The government will fully facilitate Chinese companies who invest in these projects,” he said.
Pakistan and China are close friends and are working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) together, the Prime Minister said. CPEC will strengthen Pakistan-China friendship, which is already “sweeter than honey”, the Prime Minister added.