Khushab Nuclear complex
| Khushab Nuclear Complex | |
|---|---|
| Country | Pakistan |
| Location | Khushab District, Punjab |
| Coordinates | 32°0′19.56″N 72°11′19.92″E / 32.0054333°N 72.1888667°E |
| Status | Active |
| Construction began | 1985 |
| Commission date | 1 March 1996 27 March 1997 (Achieved Criticality) |
| Construction cost | US$ 350 million ($1.05 billion in 2025) (Estimated) |
| Owner | Government of Pakistan |
| Operator | Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) on behalf of National Command Authority |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactors | 4 (Active) 1 (in possible) |
| Reactor type | HWR Pu-production-type |
| Reactor supplier | Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) |
| Site area | N/A |
| Cooling towers | 4 |
| Cooling source | Gas-cooled (Possibly, the heat exchangers) |
| Thermal capacity | 4x50 megawatt-hours (0.050 GWh) |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | Unit 1: 1996, Unit 2: 2010 (unofficial), Unit 3: 2013 (unofficial), Unit 4: 2015 (unofficial) |
The Khushab Nuclear Complex (KNC) is a plasma physics and heavy water research complex situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the town of Jauharabad in Khushab District, Punjab, Pakistan.
Planning of the complex started in 1973 but the construction of the complex was commenced in 1985 to produce plutonium, deutrium, and tritium.
Various organizations have built and contributed in building the reactor and is commonly called "the Complex". Four currently operating reactors have capacities variously reported at between 40 MWth to 50 MWth, and as high as 70 MWth. In total, they are estimated to be capable of producing 44 kilograms (97 lb) of specially graded plutonium annually, and their absence of usage in civilian energy has been attracted much publicized international criticism.
Pakistan's first indigenous nuclear reactor was commissioned at Khushab in March 1996. The Khushab Nuclear Complex was conceived and planned by the then chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Munir Ahmad Khan, who began work on the 50 MWth Khushab-I reactor and heavy water plant in 1986. He appointed nuclear engineer Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood and Dr. N.A. Javed, both from the PAEC, as the Project-Directors for the reactor and the heavy water plant respectively. According to a Pakistani press report this reactor began operating in early 1998.
Based on the success of these projects and the experience and capability gained during their construction, onsite construction work on the second unit began around 2001 or 2002. In February 2010 Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and senior military officers attended a ceremony at the Khushab complex for what is believed to be the completion of the second reactor. Over the nature and research scope of the Complex, the Government of Pakistan officially has not made any comments nor provide insights of other aspects of the nuclear weapons program since the late 1990s.
Judging by external appearance all but the first reactor are similar or identical in design.