ISLAMABAD, April 3: The government plans to establish a new facility that aims at attaining "complete technological capability" of testing and analysing fuel systems for both existing as well as future nuclear power plants.

Official sources told Dawn on Tuesday that the facility to be established in two phases would be part of the government's Energy Security Plan 2030 for generating 8,800 MW of nuclear power.

Currently no experimental infrastructure related to fuel testing/qualification exists in any nuclear facility of the country.

In the first phase, the objective is to establish experimental infrastructures that are needed to qualify the indigenously-produced fuel system covering its mechanical, thermal, hydraulic and functional requirement aspects.

In the second phase, the facility infrastructure proposed in phase 1 will be expanded for the qualification/development of upgraded versions of the nuclear fuel systems of existing (Generation II, III) as well as future (Generation IV) nuclear power plants.

The safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants is dependent upon tested/qualified nuclear fuel and the proposed facility will serve this purpose.

Each area of fuel testing activity involves a variety of state-of-the-art experimental facilities and technologies that warranted the setting up of the new facility in two phases. The government is expected to initially provide Rs 1.3 billion for this purpose.

Establishing nuclear power fuel infrastructure is said to be the key aspect towards indigenization of nuclear fuel technology, a significant attempt for self-reliance. It will involve in concurrence with the development of fuel testing technology capability as it passes through phases of planning to feasibility to acquisition and construction.

Due to international constraints, imposed on transfer of nuclear fuel technology, the whole nuclear programme is vulnerable in the absence of pressurized water reactor fuel testing/qualification capability. Under these circumstances, it was imperative that Pakistan must achieve this capability by developing nuclear power fuel testing programme facilities.

Officials concerned informed higher authorities that since the qualification of indigenously-produced fuel was an essential requirement for the nuclear fuel programme, the importance of economic feasibility of the plan should not be the main concern.

However, most safety aspects/issues of nuclear power plants are related to the safe and reliable performance of a nuclear fuel system.