Karachi nuclear power plant 1
Gross capacity
100MW
Karachi nuclear power plant 1 is a pressurised heavy water reactor unit at Karachi nuclear power plant in Pakistan rated at 100 MW gross. It is retired. Commercial operation began 7 Dec 1972.
Specification
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | CANDU-137 MW |
| Size | Small300 MWe or less |
| Coolant | Heavy water |
| Moderator | Heavy water |
| Gross capacity | 100MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | 90MW |
| Net capacity (design) | 125MW |
| Thermal output | 337MWt |
| NSSS vendor | AtkinsRéalis (Candu Energy)all vendors |
| Typical enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 |
Ownership & location
| Site | Karachi nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | 1 |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Owner | Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission100% |
| Operator | Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission |
| Coordinates | 24.8450, 66.7888 |
Fuel chain for this unit
Fuel form
Natural uranium dioxide bundles
Enrichment
Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 no enrichment required
Who makes this assembly
- BWX Technologies CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- Cameco Corporation CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- China North Nuclear Fuel Company CANDU fuel bundles
- KEPCO Nuclear Fuel CANDU fuel bundles
- Nuclear Power Corporation of India PHWR fuel bundles, natural uranium
Upstream
This unit runs on natural uranium, so its fuel chain has no enrichment step at all: mine → mill → conversion → fabrication. That is the shortest fuel chain of any commercial reactor type, and it makes the operator independent of the four organisations that control enrichment worldwide.
Fabricator capability is recorded against reactor type and model line, not against named units,
utilities do not publish fuel contracts. See the fuel chain.
Timeline
- 1 Aug 1966Construction start
- 1 Aug 1971First criticality
- 18 Oct 1971Grid connection
- 7 Dec 1972Commercial operation
- 1 Aug 2021Permanent shutdown
Other units at Karachi nuclear power plant
| Unit | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|
| Karachi nuclear power plant 2 | 1,100 | |
| Karachi nuclear power plant 3 | 1,100 |
Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06 · this unit last researched by GEM on 2024-05-23
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data