Wednesday, December 03, 2003

China to sell second nuclear power plant to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - China will sell Pakistan a second nuclear power plant next year to help solve its energy problems, government officials said Wednesday.

The power plant will be built in Chashma, 225 kilometers (135 miles) southwest of Islamabad, and will be able to generate 600 megawatts of power, two Pakistani officials said on condition of anonymity.

China, a longtime ally, sold Pakistan a nuclear power plant with the same capacity in the 1990s that also was built in Chashma.

Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali met with Pakistani nuclear scientists on Tuesday and asked them to speed work on the new project next year, the officials said.

They refused to provide details about the Chinese deal, including the price and when it was reached.

Pakistani officials often refuse to be quoted by name about nuclear matters.

During a visit to China last month by Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Chinese officials said the two countries had "reached consensus'' about a joint nuclear power plant project, but gave no other details.

Pakistan's very first nuclear power plant was built in the southern city of Karachi in the 1970s with Canadian help. It was shut down a few years ago, and Pakistani scientists have since been trying to replace it.

Pakistan became a nuclear-armed nation in 1998 when it detonated nuclear devices in response to nuclear tests by archrival India.

Pakistan has said its nuclear military program is to protect its security, and its nuclear power plants have been monitored closely by the international community. - AP





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