ISLAMABAD: Chinese engineers and laborers began work Sunday on building a 300megawalt nuclear power plant in Pakistan’s central Punjab province.
“China and Pakistan are developing nuclear energy for a common goal, which is to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of Atomic energy to peace and prosperity,” Jiang Xinxiang president of the China National Nuclear Corp., said.
The Chashma nuclear power plant, on the Jhelum river 170 miles south of Islamabad, is due to be connected to the national grid in November 1998 and handed over to Pakistan after testing in March 1999, officials said.
Pakistan and China signed the contract for building the $260 million plant, Pakistan’s second nuclear power plant, in December 1991 after more than two years of negotiations. It has been placed under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and two [AEA inspection teams have visited the site.
Pakistan produced 7,400 megawatts of electricity in fiscal 1991/ 92 but demand totaled 8,400 megawatts and was estimated to be growing at more than 10% a year.
Caretaker Prime Minister Moeen Qureshi told reporters on Saturday; “The program is at the Stage where we can manufacture a nuclear device whenever we need it but we will never develop a nuclear device.”
Article extracted from this publication >> August 13, 1993
