A newspaper in Pakistan has reported that country is preparing to add another reactor to its growing fleet.
Quoting unnamed sources, The Nation reported on Monday that Pakistan's finance ministry has released $4.8 million for a feasibility and design study into building a 1,000 megawatt nuclear plant in Karachi. The paper also reported that land has already been purchased for the plant near Hawke's Bay.
The new unit would be built adjacent to the country's first power reactor, a 125 megawatt heavy water reactor known as Karachi 1 or KANUPP. According to the World Nuclear Association, a 2005 Pakistani government plan called for an additional 8,000 megawatts of nuclear generation to be built by 2030. Two, 300 megawatt pressurized water reactors are currently under construction at the Chashma plant. Pakistan has worked extensively with China on the South Asian nation's civilian nuclear program, and the new Karachi unit would likely be a Chinese PWR.