Pak-China Signed $4.8B Deal to Build a 1200-megawatt Nuclear Power Plant

Newstoday: Pakistan and China signed a memorandum of agreement on Tuesday for the development of the 1200 MW 'Cishma Five nuclear power plant project. China National Nuclear Cooperation Overseas Company President Wang Yongji and the commission senior of Pakistan Atomic Energy Muhammad Saeed ur Rehman inked this 4.8 billion dollar deal in Islamabad with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. According to Pakistan's official media, the Prime Minister stated that the government would begin the project as soon as possible and expressed gratitude for Chinese investment in the country.

This project will be built near Chashma, in the Mianwali district of Punjab province, where there are existing nuclear power plants. According to Reuters, when Pakistan launched its sixth nuclear power plant two years ago, its nuclear energy generating capacity reached 1,400 megawatts. Previously, Pakistan developed an 1100 MW nuclear power plant in the seaside city of Karachi with Chinese assistance. According to the official media, the building of this project was decided in principle by the previous PML-N administration in 2017, however, the current government ignored it. The prime minister stated that the project's cost had been set for 2017, and the Chinese government has also provided a discount of millions.