The third Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) unit, K-3, which will generate 1,100MW of electricity, is officially opened by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday.
The project was completed with Chinese assistance.
In his remarks, the Prime Minister stated that K-3 was an important step forward in Pakistan’s cooperation with its trusted ally, China.
He expressed his gratitude to the researchers and workers from Pakistan and China who had contributed to the project’s success.
He declared that the members of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) staff who worked on the project would be invited to the Prime Minister’s Office for a ceremony of public acknowledgment.
In light of the $27 billion energy import bill, the PM claimed that Pakistan needed an alternative and less expensive energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, and nuclear.
He expressed regret that Pakistan’s power production only reached 10,000MW despite the country being endowed with vast resources that could produce 60,000MW of hydroelectricity.
He recalled that Nawaz Sharif, the then-prime minister, oversaw the completion of the KANUP project, and he thanked the Chinese government for its cooperation in this matter.
The PM noted that the production of thousands of megawatts of electricity through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects had a significant impact on the nation’s energy needs.
In a video message, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General (DG) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), emphasized the significance of using nuclear energy safely as Pakistan dealt with climate change challenges.
