ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday virtually inaugurated the 1,100 megawatts nuclear power plant, the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2 (K-2).
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) connected the K-2 plant to the national grid in March.
In 2013, China committed $6.5 billion to finance the construction of a major nuclear power project in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, which would have two reactors with a capacity of 1,100 megawatts each.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Khan said the plant would help Pakistan with it goal of generating “clean energy”.
“This is important for us because Pakistan is among top 10 countries at risk due to climate change,” the prime minister said.
“Glaciers are melting at a rapid speed, and our coming generations will face an acute water shortage as well as food security issues if the effects of climate change are not reversed,” Khan said, saying clean energy was “important” for Pakistan. “Unfortunately, we have not focused on producing energy from water despite the country having the potential to do so.”
Last December, PM Khan said 60 percent of all energy produced in the country by 2030 would be clean and obtained through renewables, while speaking at a Climate Ambition Summit’s virtual meeting.
“By 2030, 60 percent of all energy produced in Pakistan will be clean energy through renewables,” Khan said. “30pc of all our vehicles will be [run] on electricity.”
