Pak govt allocates Rs 18,500 mn for nuke projects

The Pakistan government will provide Rs 18,500 million for nuclear projects, including two controversial new atomic power plants to be built at the Chashma complex with Chinese assistance.

The Pakistan government will provide Rs 18,500 million for nuclear projects, including two controversial new atomic power plants to be built at the Chashma complex with Chinese assistance.

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The allocation for Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission's projects, part of the government's Public Sector Development Programme for 2010-11, came as the country marked the 12th anniversary of its first nuclear tests in 1998.

A total of Rs 12,599 million will be provided for the third and fourth nuclear plants to be built at the Chashma complex in Punjab province.

The complex currently has an operational 300 MW nuclear reactor supplied by China. A second 300 MW reactor is currently being built with Chinese assistance.

China and Pakistan signed an agreement last year for cooperation in building two more reactors with a generation capacity of 340 MW each at the Chashma complex.

Nuclear scientists have expressed concerns over the pact, saying it violates international guidelines forbidding nuclear exports to countries like Pakistan that have not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty nor have any international safeguards on reactors.

The Pakistan government will also provide Rs 3,360 million for the second reactor at the Chashma complex and Rs 300 million for a nuclear power waste facility at Chashma.