Chasnupp-5 in Punjab region will be Generation III ‘Hualong One’ unit
The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority has granted a licence to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) for construction of Unit 5 of the Chasnupp nuclear power station in Punjab province, central Pakistan, several news outlets said.
PAEC said it had applied for the licence in April. In July 2023 officials attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the plant.
Chasnupp-5, also known as Chasma-5, will use China’s domestically developed Generation III pressurised water nuclear technology, the 1,200-MW Hualong One or HPR1000.
The Hualong One is an indigenous, three-loop pressurised water reactor. It incorporates elements of China National Nuclear Corporation’s earlier-generation ACP1000 and China General Nuclear’s ACPR1000+ reactor designs.
China has already supplied what it says are two Hualong One (HPR1000) units for the Kanupp, or Karachi, nuclear power station, west of the city of Karachi in southern Pakistan, although the International Atomic Energy Agency lists those units as ACP1000s, not HPR1000s. If the Kanupp plants are included, Chasnupp-5 will be the third Hualong One outside China.
The Chasnupp site is home to four Chinese-supplied CNP-300 pressurised water reactors, which began commercial operation between 2000 and 2017.
China has supplied every unit in Pakistan’s six-unit nuclear fleet, which provides about 17% of the country’s electricity generation.
According to International Atomic Energy Agency data there are 18 Hualong One units either under construction in operation or in China.
The first of China’s Hualong One plants began commercial operation at Fuqing-5 in 2021.
