KARACHI: The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission issued a Letter of Intent yesterday to the Canadian General Electric Company as prime contractor for the supply, construction, installation and commissioning of a 132,000 kilowatt nuclear power station for Karachi on a turn-key basis. Situated at the “Paradise Point” near the picturesque Buleji Beach on the Arabian Sea coast, 15 miles west of Karachi, the nuclear plant when completed in 1969 will provide sufficient generating capacity to meet the rapidly growing demand for power in the Karachi area.

It will operate as a base-load station in the grid of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation and is expected to produce power at about 3-1/2 paisas per unit (kwh). Although the capital cost of the plant is almost double the cost of a gas-fired station of equivalent capacity, the savings on fuel over the life time of the plant will more than compensate for the extra capital cost involved. At high load factors, the nuclear plant will generate power at a cost lower than that of a gas-fired plant of equivalent capacity. It will also help to conserve natural gas for such uses as production of chemical fertilisers, plastics, synthetic fibres, domestic fuel and raising of industrial steam.

Published in Dawn, November 29th , 2014

Opinion

Editorial

Border clashes
19 May, 2024

Border clashes

THE Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier has witnessed another series of flare-ups, this time in the Kurram tribal district...
Penalising the dutiful
19 May, 2024

Penalising the dutiful

DOES the government feel no remorse in burdening honest citizens with the cost of its own ineptitude? With the ...
Students in Kyrgyzstan
Updated 19 May, 2024

Students in Kyrgyzstan

The govt ought to take a direct approach comprising convincing communication with the students and Kyrgyz authorities.
Ominous demands
Updated 18 May, 2024

Ominous demands

The federal government needs to boost its revenues to reduce future borrowing and pay back its existing debt.
Property leaks
18 May, 2024

Property leaks

THE leaked Dubai property data reported on by media organisations around the world earlier this week seems to have...
Heat warnings
18 May, 2024

Heat warnings

STARTING next week, the country must brace for brutal heatwaves. The NDMA warns of severe conditions with...