Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the third unit (K-3) of the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP), which is being built with the cooperation of China.
The Prime Minister praised the officials, scientists, engineers and staff of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission for working day and night on the project and said that they deserve full praise. He also thanked the officials, engineers and staff of the Chinese companies working on the project and invited them to make progress for more projects together. Later, the Prime Minister visited the K-3 Operations Room where he was briefed about the project.
Addressing the ceremony on this occasion, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that it is an honor for him to inaugurate this project, this project will help in meeting the energy needs of the country. He said that Pakistan imports petroleum products worth 27 billion dollars which is a major financial problem for us, this plant will provide cheap energy which is a big need of Pakistan.
The Prime Minister said that the K-3 project was finalized during the Nawaz Sharif era, today it is generating 1100 megawatts of electricity, more work is needed on it and discussions are being held with Chinese friends in this regard. He said that in 2015 under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, projects worth billions of dollars were signed under the CPEC under which thousands of megawatts of electricity are being generated today. Many other projects are also ongoing in the country under CPEC. The Prime Minister said that the Pakistan-China friendship will now enter the next stages. In the recent past, CPEC was stalled due to the problems it created. Industrial zones were to be built, which could not be built. Now we are trying hard to move these projects forward. ML of Peshawar to Karachi Railway. One plan will bring revolution. Describing the partnership with China as important, the Prime Minister said that agreements will be made with Chinese companies for the initiation and completion of more projects.
The Prime Minister said that Allah Almighty had provided Pakistan with such resources that we can generate cheap electricity from hydel and other sources, but we are generating much less than the capacity. The government will push ahead with alternative energy projects to save billions of dollars spent on petroleum products. The prime minister said that Diamarbhasha and Dasu dams are under construction, it will take another 4-5 years for their operationalization, Pakistan can get cheap electricity from the sun and wind, alternative energy projects will get cheap electricity in the coming years. Pakistan needs cheap energy, construction of dams and completion of alternative energy projects will save Pakistan billions of dollars in the next few years by getting cheap energy. He said that the CPEC project was stalled in the recent past due to the difficulties it created, CPEC projects and will increase partnership with Chinese companies which will bring development and prosperity to the country.
He said that due to the recent floods in Pakistan, there was a large-scale destruction and an economic loss of 30 billion dollars. In this situation, we expect our Chinese friends to reduce the price per unit. The Prime Minister said that the Chashma-Five agreement will be signed soon, Pakistan and China are best friends and brothers, during the last 75 years our friendship has stood the test of time and China has supported Pakistan in all kinds of situations.
