PM Imran Khan to inaugurate 1,100-megawatt K-2 nuclear power plant tomorrow

• PM Imran Khan will inaugurate the 1,100-megawatt Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 (K-2) nuclear power plant tomorrow.
• PM's aide Shahbaz Gill says the generated electricity will be immediately transferred to the national grid after the project's inauguration.
• K-2 is equipped with highly advanced Generation-III (G3) technology, says Shahbaz Gill.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the 1,100-megawatt Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 (K-2) nuclear power plant tomorrow, special assistant to the prime minister on political communication Shahbaz Gill said Thursday.

According to Gill, the 1,100-megawatt electricity will be immediately transferred to the national grid after the project's inauguration.

Previously, the K-1 nuclear power plant was installed in the 1960s, Shahbaz Gill said, adding that the new plant, which has been installed with the help of China, is equipped with Generation-III (G3) technology, which is one of the most advanced technologies in the world at present. 

"The plant will start generating electricity from tomorrow to mark the 70th anniversary of the Pakistan-China friendship," Gill said in a tweet, adding that 2021 will be the 30th year of nuclear cooperation between Pakistan and China. 

Back in March, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) had announced that it would connect the K-2 to the national grid for cost-effective and reliable electricity, as reported by The News.

K-2 is the first Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Pakistan with a generation capacity of 1,100MWs and its addition to the national grid will help improve the economy.

It is also expected that K-2 would nearly double the generation capacity of nuclear power plants, substantially improving the overall share of nuclear power in the energy mix.

On December 1 last year, the loading of nuclear fuel onto the plant was started after getting a clearance from the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA).

NPP had achieved criticality at the end of February and was undergoing certain safety tests and procedures before it could finally be connected to the grid.

Moreover, the other one, named K-3, is also in the completion phase and is expected to be operational by the end of 2021.

Other six NPPs running in the country

PAEC is now running six NPPs in the country. Two of them are located in Karachi and are named Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) and K-2 while four sites at Chashma, in the Mianwali district, are named Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1-4.

Earlier, the collective generation capacity of all PAEC-operated NPPs was around 1,400MWs. Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Muhammad Naeem congratulated Member Power Saeedur Rehman and his team on this achievement.