Dome installed at Pakistan's Chashma unit 5

Chashma 5 will be the third Hualong One (HPR1000) reactor to be built in Pakistan. Karachi units 2 and 3 were the first exports of China National Nuclear Corporation's design, which has active and passive safety features including a double-shell containment and reactor filtered venting system, and a 60-year design life. Chashma 5 will also be the largest electricity-producing nuclear power unit in Pakistan with a capacity of 1,200 MWe.

Pakistan signed a USD4.8 billion deal with China for construction of the new unit in June 2023.

_{(Image: APP)}

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) applied to the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) for the construction licence for the unit in April 2024, along with the Preliminary Safety Assessment Report and licensing submissions covering design and operational aspects of nuclear safety, radiation protection, emergency preparedness, waste management and nuclear security. PNRA issued the licence on 26 December 2024. This cleared the way for construction of the unit - for which a ground-breaking ceremony was held in July 2023 - to officially begin. A concrete-pouring ceremony was held on 30 December 2024 at the site at Mianwali in Punjab. Chashma 5 is targeted to commence electricity generation in September 2030

The HPR1000 (Hualong One) reactor design features a double-layered containment building, the main function of which is to ensure the integrity and leak tightness of the reactor building, and it plays a key role in the containment of radioactive substances.

A ceremony was held on Tuesday to mark the hoisting into position of the inner dome of the double-layered containment dome. The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, as well as Chinese and other senior officials and representatives of relevant organisations.

_{Shehbaz speaking at the ceremony (Image: APP)}

Speaking at the ceremony, Shehbaz noted that the dome had been installed less than three and a half years after the unit's groundbreaking, ahead of schedule, and expressed confidence that the project would also be commissioned earlier than planned.

Pakistan's six operating nuclear power reactors, with a combined generating capacity of 3,262 MWe, currently produced about 17% of the country's electricity.