A ceremony has been held to mark the final official acceptance of unit 4 at the Chashma nuclear power plant in Pakistan's Punjab province. Constructed by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), the unit is China's fourth overseas nuclear power unit.
Chashma unit 4 was connected to the grid on 29 June, 2017. The Chinese-supplied pressurised water reactor (PWR) is the second of two CNP-300 units to enter service at the site, following unit 3 which entered commercial operation in December 2016. The Chashma site - also referred to as Chasnupp - is home to two Chinese-supplied 300 MWe PWRs as well: unit 1, in commercial operation since 2000, and unit 2, since 2011.
For the final acceptance ceremony, held at Chashma on 23 September, CNNC set up video connections at construction subsidiary China Zhongyuan Engineering Company's headquarters in Beijing and at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) headquarters in Islamabad. Participants in the ceremony included PAEC Chairman Muhammad Naeem and CNNC President Gu Jun.
CNNC said China and Pakistan have maintained a strong partnership in the nuclear power sector since the two countries signed an agreement in 1986 to facilitate the transfer of civil nuclear technology.
Regarding future cooperation, Gu Jun said: "CNNC will, as always, assist Pakistan in the operation and maintenance of its plants, provide full-life and full-service services, and commit to providing clean, efficient and safe energy to the Pakistani people."
Pakistan also has a 125 MWe Canadian-supplied pressurised heavy water reactor, Karachi unit 1, which has been in commercial operation since 1972. Two 1161 MWe Chinese-supplied Hualong One (HPR1000) plants are under construction as units 2 and 3 of the Karachi plant. Construction of unit 2 began in 2015 and unit 3 in 2016. The units are scheduled for commercial operation in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
In November 2017, CNNC and PAEC signed a cooperation agreement on the construction of a Hualong One reactor as unit 5 of the Chashma plant.
