PM inaugurates 1,100 MW K-3 nuclear power plant

F.P. Report
KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday inaugurated K-3, the third unit of Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUP), which will produce 1,100 mega watt of electricity. The project has been completed with the assistance from China.
Addressing on the occasion, the prime minister said K-3 was a step forward in cooperation with Pakistan’s trusted friend China. He congratulated the scientists and workers of Pakistan and China who strove for completion of the project. He said the staff of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, who contributed to the project, would be invited to the Prime Minister’s Office for public recognition.
The prime minister said in view of $27 billion energy import bill, Pakistan required alternative and inexpensive sources of energy including solar, wind, hydel and nuclear. He said Pakistan was blessed with enormous resources, had the potential of producing 60,000 mega watts through hydel power, and regretted that the power generation stood merely at 10,000 megawatt.
He recalled that the project of KANUP was finalized during the tenure of then prime minister Nawaz Sharif and expressed gratitude to the Government of China for extending cooperation in this regard. Shehbaz Sharif mentioned that the electricity projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor were greatly contributing to the country’s energy demands through the production of thousands of megawatts. Director General International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi, in a video message, emphasized the importance of safe use of nuclear energy as Pakistan faced challenges of climate change. Chairman Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Raja Ali Raza Anwar said National Electric Power Regulatory Authority had declared KANUP as a high power producing facility with its 27.15 percent production.
Pakistan to keep extending unwavering support to Kashmiris: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that Pakistan would keep extending its unwavering support to the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir who had been cornered through the Indian illegal actions of August 2019.
The prime minister, chairing a meeting to review the preparations for the observance of Kashmir Solidarity Day on February 5, said the people of Pakistan would not sit idle till the just resolution of Kashmir dispute. He instructed all the relevant departments to work in cohesion regarding the preparations for Kashmir Solidarity Day.
The representatives of the federal ministries, governments of the provinces as well as Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir briefed the prime minister about their respective preparations. They told the meeting that rallies, walks, photo exhibitions, debate contests and other events would be held across the country.
Addressing the participants, the prime minister said that for the last 75 years, India had illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the violence had increased in recent days. He reiterated the resolve that the voice of the Kashmiri people would be conveyed to the whole world and that the people of Pakistan would keep up their support for the oppressed Kashmiris. Federal ministers Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Maulana Asad Mahmood, Rana Tanveer Hussain and Aminul Haq, Advisor to PM Qamar Zaman Kaira, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi and senior officers attended the meeting.