By Minahil Makhdoom
ISLAMABAD: Ups and downs are considered a routine matter in bilateral diplomatic ties among the world nations, but it does not apply to Pakistan and China as their multi-dimensional relations always witnessed a unique strength with each passing day for the last 70 years in all weathers.
The two countries are enjoying unprecedented and deep-rooted friendship and cooperation in almost all spheres of life; and the energy sector is one of them under which Pakistan is steadily inching towards attaining self-sufficiency through a number of power generation projects initiated in collaboration with China especially under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Project.
The latest project that has been completed with the Chinese assistance is Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 (K-2) having 1100 MW capacity which will be formally inaugurated on Friday (May 21).
K-2 is a generation III, state of the art plant with improved safety systems, especially internal and external accident prevention ability and enhanced emergency response capability.
The construction of K-2 commenced in November 2013, whereas its fuel loading started on December 01, 2020, after approval from the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA). After further reactor physics tests, plant was connected to national grid on March 18, 2021 for trial operation and power escalation tests.
Meanwhile, Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-3 (K-3), with similar capacity is also in commissioning phase and is expected to start production during first quarter of 2022.
