Pakistan - World Nuclear Performance Report
Pakistan has six operating nuclear power reactors supplied by China at two sites: Chashma, inland 200 km southwest of Islamabad; and Karachi, on the coast about 30 km west of the city of Karachi.
The four units at Chashma are CNP300 models, based on the Qinshan 1 reactor in China. The first reactor was connected to the grid in 2000 and the fourth unit in 2017. The Karachi nuclear plant is the site of the country’s first nuclear power reactor, a 90 MWe (net) Canadian PHWR that operated between 1971 and 2021. The two operating units at Karachi are HPR1000 models, also known as Hualong One. Unit 2 at the plant was connected to the grid in 2021, followed by unit 3 in 2022.
In June 2023 it was announced that the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission had signed a $4.8 billion deal with China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) to construct an HPR1000 reactor as unit 5 at Chashma. First nuclear concrete was poured in January 2025. CNNC is providing 85% of the estimated $3.7 billion required for the construction.
Nuclear electricity production by age of reactor
