Khushab Nuclear Complex

Template:Infobox NPP Khushab Nuclear Complex is a plutonium production nuclear reactor and heavy water complex situated 30 km south of the town of Jauharabad in Khushab District, Punjab, Pakistan.

The heavy water and natural uranium reactors at Khushab are a central element of Pakistan's program to produce plutonium and tritium for use in compact nuclear warheads. Khushab Nuclear Complex, like that at Kahuta, is not subject to International Atomic Energy Agency inspections.

The two currently operating reactors have a capacity variously reported at between 40 MWt to 50 MWt, and as high as 70 MWt. They are conservatively estimated to be capable of producing 22 kg of plutonium annually.

The first reactor was commissioned in March 1996. This was Pakistan's first indigenous nuclear reactor. Construction was begun in 1986 by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) chairman Munir Ahmad Khan. Project-Director for the Khushab reactor was Pakistani nuclear engineer Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood. According to a Pakistani press report this reactor began operating in early 1998.

Onsite construction work on the second reactor 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.

A third reactor and ancillary buildings are observed to be under construction at the Khushab site, although details have not been confirmed by the Pakistani government. Judging by external appearance the third reactor is similar or identical to the second reactor in design. Heavy water production and nuclear reprocessing facilities are also being expanded.

See also

• Khushab
• Jauharabad

External links

• Pakistan Plutonium Production Reactor at Khushab Nuclear Site