Pakistan’s government expects the planned 1,200-megawatt Chashma-5 unit to begin producing electricity in September 2030, after crews installed its dome in a major construction milestone.
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) announced the dome installation at the Mianwali plant Tuesday, Nov. 10. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended with Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Chinese officials. Sharif said crews completed the dome within three and a half years of the July 2023 groundbreaking and described the pace as ahead of schedule. The announcement did not give the original date set for dome installation.
The government says Chashma-5 will be Pakistan’s seventh nuclear power unit built with Chinese assistance. Sharif said the project could help shield Pakistan from overseas fuel costs and shifts in global prices. He thanked China National Nuclear Corporation and Chinese engineers for their support, but gave no estimate of the project’s effect on fuel imports or electricity prices.
PAEC Chairman Dr. Raja Ali Raza Anwar said Pakistan’s existing nuclear plants have a combined capacity of 3,530 megawatts. He put nuclear power’s share at 16.6% of electricity generation and 8.6% of installed capacity, rising to about 26% of generation in winter. Anwar also said the plants avoid about 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
The government announcement did not specify the period or electricity system covered by Anwar’s 16.6% estimate. PAEC’s website separately reports that nuclear plants supplied 18.5% of electricity generated in the National Transmission and Despatch Company system in 2025. The government statement does not say whether Anwar’s figure uses the same period or system.
In September, Dawn reported that Chashma-5 was scheduled for commissioning in 2028. Commissioning and the start of electricity generation are separate milestones; the government’s latest announcement gives September 2030 for generation but does not specify an interim milestone.
