Tuesday, 22 April 2025
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The ceremony was held at the Karachi site on 18 April, with representatives from China and Pakistan jointly signing the final acceptance certificate.
Karachi units 2 and 3 are the first exports of CNNC’s 1100 MWe Hualong One pressurised water reactor, which is promoted on the international market as the HPR1000. Construction of unit 2 began in 2015 and unit 3 the following year. Karachi 2 achieved first criticality in February 2021 and was connected to the grid the following month after the completion of commissioning tests. The final acceptance certificate for Karachi 2 was signed in May last year.
Unit 3 achieved first criticality in February 2022 and was connected to the grid the following month. It passed preliminary acceptance tests on 18 April 2022, marking its entry into commercial operation. A ceremony was held to mark the inauguration of unit 3 in February last year.
Karachi units 2 and 3 (Image: CNNC)
CNNC describes the Karachi Hualong One units as “a landmark project for China’s nuclear power technology export”. The acceptance of both units, it says, “verifies the technical maturity and international market adaptability of China’s independent third-generation nuclear power technology Hualong One, and provides a ‘Chinese solution’ of clean energy that can be promoted for the countries jointly building the Belt and Road”.
The two Karachi units have so far generated more than 48 billion kWh of electricity, “effectively alleviating Pakistan’s power shortage pressure”, CNNC said. According to the company, this generation has reduced standard coal consumption by 14.976 million tonnes and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 39.168 million tonnes annually, “providing nuclear power for Pakistan’s energy structure optimisation, low-carbon transformation and sustainable development”.
The Karachi site – also sometimes referred to as KANUPP – was home to Pakistan’s first nuclear power reactor, Karachi 1 – a small 100 MWe (90 MWe net) Canadian pressurised heavy water reactor which shut down in 2021 after 50 years of operation.
In August 2023, Pakistan’s Executive Committee of the National Economic Council formally approved a project to build Chashma unit 5, a Hualong One reactor, at Mianwali in Punjab, on a site that is already home to four operating Chinese-supplied CNP-300 pressurised water reactors. First concrete for Chashma 5 was poured in late December 2024.
