Pakistan May Buy Six Nuclear Reactors from China

[Gloria]

From the NEW World Media Watch up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com

2//The News International, Pakistan Wednesday January 04, 2006-- Zil Haj 03, 1426 A.H

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jan2006-daily/04-01-2006/main/main11.htm



PAKISTAN MAY BUY SIX NUCLEAR REACTORS FROM CHINA



LONDON: Pakistan is negotiating the purchase of between six and eight nuclear power reactors from China during the next decade in the most ambitious expansion yet of the country’s nuclear energy capability.



(SNIP)



Disclosure of negotiations with China follows the formal start of construction last week of a Chinese-supplied nuclear plant at Chashma in the Punjab. The new Chashma-2 plant is expected to be completed during the next five years and is to be built beside the existing 300 MW Chashma-1, also supplied by China. Pakistan also operates a 125 MW Canadian-supplied reactor in Karachi.



Pakistan’s increasing reliance on China as main supplier of its nuclear reactors is likely to raise concerns within the anti-nuclear proliferation lobby in the west. Pakistan emerged at the centre of global concerns about nuclear proliferation in 2004 when it was revealed that AQ Khan, father of its nuclear bomb project, sold nuclear expertise and technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.



In an apparent attempt to pacify western concerns about proliferation, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz stressed last week that the country’s nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes. "We have established an effective command-and-control authority to ensure the safety and security of our strategic assets. We have also adopted wide-ranging controls to prevent leakage of nuclear materials," he said.

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[stepnw1f]

1. Yeah... But Iran is Baaaaaaadddd!!!

More like: has oiiiiilllllllll!:think:

[Up2Late]

2. Not LBN, Here's the FT original from Monday, January 2, 2006

(Sorry, the recent flood of "By line" removed, recycled news here and on the internet, is really starting to piss me off.)

Pakistan in talks to buy Chinese reactors

By Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad
Published: January 2 2006 21:52 | Last updated: January 3 2006 05:58

Pakistan is negotiating the purchase of between six and eight nuclear power reactors from China during the next decade in the most ambitious expansion yet of the country’s nuclear energy capability.

The deal could cost $7bn-$10bn and would involve adding 3,600-4,800 megawatts of capacity using a series of 600MW reactors. The plants are expected to be completed by 2025, with construction starting by 2015, a senior Pakistani official told the Financial Times.

The installation of Chinese nuclear power reactors would take Pakistan a long way towards meeting government targets of raising its nuclear power generation capacity to 8,800MW by 2030, up from a current capacity of 425MW.

Disclosure of negotiations with China follows the formal start of construction last week of a Chinese-supplied nuclear plant at Chashma in Punjab province.

<http://news.ft.com/cms/s/0edd06ac-7bbe-11da-ab8e-0000779e2340.html>
(more at link above)