The reports quoted a spokesperson for the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission as saying fuel loading for the HPR1000, or Hualong One plant, began on Tuesday after a permit was issued.
There are two plants, Kanupp-2 and Kanupp-3, under construction at the Kanupp site, also known as Karachi. They are the first of China’s indigenous Generation III HPR1000 reactor design to be built overseas.
Kanupp-3 is scheduled for commercial operation in 2022.
Pakistan has five commercial nuclear reactors which in 2019 provided a 6.6% share of its electricity production.
In October, the Fuqing-5 plant in China became the first Hualong One to achieve first criticality. It was connected to the grid late last month.
The Hualong One is a three-loop pressurised water reactor. It incorporates elements of China National Nuclear Corporation’s ACP1000 and China General Nuclear’s ACPR1000+ reactor designs.
There are eight Hualong One units under construction in China, including Fuqing-5 and -6. The others are two each at Taipingling in Guangdong province, southern China; Zhangzhou in Fujian province, eastern China; and Fangchenggang in Guangxi province in the south of the country.
