Pakistan adds the fourth nuclear plant

Pakistan's fourth nuclear power plant went online Wednesday, a joint collaboration with China that adds 340 megawatts to the national grid as part of the government's efforts to end a growth-sapping energy deficit.

Pakistan is one of the few developing countries pursuing atomic energy in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, as it seeks to close an electricity shortfall that can stretch up to 7,000 MW in peak summer months, or around 32 percent of total demand.

The Chashma-III reactor, located some 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of capital Islamabad, is the third built as part of a collaboration between the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

The country's first nuclear plant was supplied by Canada in 1972, with an installed capacity of 137 MW.

AFP