Pak, China sign pact for building two new nuclear reactors

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Oct 18 (PTI) Pakistan will build two more
nuclear reactors with Chinese assistance as part of its
efforts to improve civil nuclear cooperation between two close
allies, a top official said Saturday.

An agreement to this effect was signed in Beijing in
the course of the first visit of the new President Asif Ali
Zardari to China that concluded Friday, Foreign Minister
Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters here.

Though a deal on the lines of the Indo-U.S. civil
nuclear deal with China, which the media had speculated was on
the cards, proved elusive, the foreign minister ruled out that
there was a move to conclude such a pact.

But he said that Beijing had spoken out against the
"discriminatory nature" of that agreement.

China had also said that there should not be any
discrimination against Pakistan, which should get a similar
nuclear deal, he said.

Qureshi said the agreement provided for building two
new reactors at the Chashma nuclear complex that would
generate 680 MW of electricity.

He said progress had also been made during Zardari's
visit on improving civil nuclear cooperation with Chin but did
not elaborate.

The Foreign Minister parried questions on whether
Pakistan and China would have to seek approval from the
International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.) and the Nuclear
Suppliers Group for the new plants, saying the two countries
had a strategic partnership and had been cooperating in the
civil nuclear field for a long time.

He said Pakistan is a responsible nation that is
cognisant of its international obligations. Pakistan and China
had cooperated in civil nuclear field under "difficult
circumstances" in the past and would continue to do so in the
future.

Pakistan, Qureshi said, was "moving in the right
direction at the right speed" as China recognised Pakistan's
needs in the field of civil nuclear technology.

Significantly, the pact on the two new nuclear
reactors was not part of the official list issued by Pakistan
and China of 12 agreements and MoUs signed during Zardari's
visit. No mention of the agreement was also made during
official briefings in Beijing Friday.

The government led by Zardari's Pakistan People's
Party has been under pressure from domestic political circles
to seek a civil nuclear deal with China to match the atomic
pact finalised between India and the U.S.

The Chashma site already has two nuclear power plants
built with Chinese assistance. Recent reports have suggested
that the two proposed reactors are expected to cost over Rs
139 billion, including a foreign exchange component of Rs
99.538 billion.

The first nuclear reactor at Chashma now generates 300
MW of electricity and the second reactor is currently being
completed.

The two new reactors are expected to be completed in
eight years.

Pakistan also plans to set up a nuclear power fuel
complex at a cost of over Rs 51 billion to fabricate fuel to
be used in future nuclear power plants. Pakistani officials
have said the country needs nuclear fuel technology from China
to fabricate fuel locally.

Under its Energy Security Action Plan, Pakistan aims
to increase the share of nuclear power from one percent to 5.4
percent by creating the capacity to generate 8,800 MW of
nuclear energy by 2030. Experts believe only an "all-weather
ally" like China could assist Pakistan in the nuclear sector
at a time when the country is grappling with a crippling
economic crunch.