Karachi Nuclear Power Complex
The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (or KANUPP) is a large commercial nuclear power plant located at the Paradise Point in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
| Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) | |
|---|---|
| Official name |
|
| Country | Pakistan |
| Location | Paradise Point, Karachi, Sindh |
| Coordinates | 24°50′55″N 66°46′55″E |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began |
|
| Commission date |
|
| Decommission date | K1: 1 August 2021 |
| Construction cost | K1: US$57.3 million (1966) K2-K3: US$9.5 billion (2013) |
| Owner(s) | Government of Pakistan |
| Operator(s) | Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (Reactor management) NESPAK (Site and energy management) |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactors |
|
| Reactor type | K1: PHWR K2-K3: PWR |
| Reactor supplier | GE Canada (Until 1976) Pakistan Nuclear Fuel Complex China Nuclear Power Corp. |
| Cooling source | Arabian Sea |
| Feed-in tariff | K1: 14.2 Bn kWh |
| Thermal capacity |
|
| Power generation | |
| Units operational |
|
| Make and model | K1: CANDU K2-K3: Hualong One |
| Units planned | K4: 1400 MW K5: 1400 MW |
| Units decommissioned | 1 x 90 MWe (K1) |
| Nameplate capacity | 2,028 MWe |
| Capacity factor |
|
| Annual net output | K2: 6,208.89 GWh (22,352.0 TJ) (2021) |
| External links | |
| Website | Karachi Nuclear Power Plant
KANUPP-1 (K-1) |
Officially known as Karachi Nuclear Power Complex, the power generation site is composed of three commercial nuclear power plants. The K-1 commenced its criticality operations in 1971 whereas K-2 was commenced its operations in 2021 with a gross power capacity of 1100 MWt. The K-3, with similar design to K-2, is due for official commissioning and commenced its criticality operations on 21 February 2022.
The first nuclear power plant, which was later known as K-1, was commissioned with support from Canada whereas K-2 and K-3 have been supported by financing and investment provided by China and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). After a lengthy and complicated negotiations with Canada, the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant was constructed by Canadian firms in 1965 and it went critical in August 1971 with a smaller CANDU-type reactor– it provided energy and generated electricity to whole city of Karachi. The site is protected and covered under the IAEA monitoring, which also provided funding for the site's expansion.
The nuclear power plant has a distinction of being the first commercial nuclear plant in the Muslim world.