Kanupp-3 is now set to become the world’s fourth Hualong One unit to begin commercial operation and the second outside China. There are two units in commercial operation at the Fuqing nuclear power station in China and one in Pakistan – the identical Kanupp-2.
Units 2 and 3 at the Kanupp nuclear station, also known as Karachi, are China’s only overseas Hualong One projects.
Kanupp-2 became the first overseas Hualong One unit to begin commercial operation in May 2021. Construction took just under six years.
Construction of Kanupp-3 began in May 2016. Fuel was loaded into the reactor core in January 2022 and the unit was connection to the grid in March 2022.
The 1,014-MW Hualong One, or HPR1000, is a Chinese indigenous, three-loop pressurised water reactor. It incorporates elements of CNNC’s ACP1000 and China General Nuclear’s ACPR1000+ reactor designs.
Pakistan has five nuclear units in commercial operation – four China-supplied CNP-300 units at Chasnupp, in the central Punjab region, and the newest Hualong One unit at Kanupp-2 in the Sindh region.
The country’s reactor fleet provides about a 7% share of domestic electricity production, according to date by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
