Pakistan seeks IAEA support to boost N-power programme.

Byline: Amin Ahmed

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan has sought the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to strengthen its nuclear power programme as the country is significantly scaling up nuclear power to meet the rising energy demand.

To facilitate the rapid expansion of nuclear power, IAEA has amalgamated four of its pre-existing national technical cooperation projects, which supported the regulators, operators, waste managers and non-destructive testers involved in Pakistan's nuclear power programme, into a single project, according to a press release of IAEA.

IAEA's streamlined support for Pakistan aimed to expand the nuclear power generating capacity more than six-fold over the next decade, from 1430MW to 8800MW was discussed by regulators, operators and representatives of organisations involved in Pakistan's nuclear power programme who gathered at IAEA's headquarters in Vienna recently.

In doing so, the IAEA is bringing together all relevant stakeholders of the Pakistani nuclear power programme to streamline their workflows, reduce delays and costs, enhance cooperation and harmonise their safety and waste management approaches.

The press release quoted the Manager of the Technical Coordination Division of the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant, Ahmad Nadeem, as saying that...