Quite Predictably...

Daily Times, September 6, 2006
Pakistan relying on China for N-power
By Khalid Hasan

WASHINGTON: Pakistan, shunned by the United States in its nuclear expansion programme, is relying on increased help from China, according to a report.

China has already completed a 300 MW nuclear power plant in Chashma in Pakistan and is constructing another of the same size there. The Inter Press Service (IPS) reports from Beijing that during meetings with a delegation of the Chinese Communist Party in Islamabad in late August, President Pervez Musharraf sought more Chinese input in the sector, reportedly requesting a series of new plants to help his country boost its nuclear power capacity.

Beijing aims to sign a deal in November that will see China helping Pakistan build six nuclear power plants with an installed capacity of 300 MW each. The agreement will be concluded during a visit by top Chinese leaders to Pakistan, bringing the South Asian country a step closer to meeting its target of 8,000 MW of nuclear power capacity by 2025.

According to IPS, Pakistan had earlier invited the United States to set up nuclear power plants but the response was “tepid”. Although Islamabad has pledged cooperation in the war against terrorism, Washington has chosen to reward India rather than Pakistan with nuclear fuel and technology supply deal. The AQ Khan episode has contributed to the US advising Pakistan to look to its petroleum-rich western neighbour, Iran, for its energy needs. At the same time, the US has actively discouraged India from sourcing Iranian gas and all but scuttled a proposed pipeline through Pakistan. China is now eagerly stepping in, hoping to create markets for its own budding nuclear power industry. Yet, it is doing so with caution and has strengthened its nuclear export controls.

China itself is in the middle of an ambitious nuclear-power initiative, the report notes. The country has unveiled ambitious plans to have four percent of its 2020 electricity needs met by nuclear power. In the current energy mix, nuclear power accounts for less than two percent. To more than double its share in less than 15 years, China would need to add at least two nuclear reactors annually, each with a capacity of 1,000 MW. This aggressive push for nuclear growth is driven by escalating energy shortages and ever more pressing needs to keep greenhouse gas emissions, that are linked to global warming, under control.