Pak increases Atomic Energy Commission's budget by 78 per cent

The allocation for the PAEC is almost 11 per cent of the total federal development budget estimated at Rs 360 billion for fiscal 2012-13.

A major chunk of the PAEC's budget has been allocated to two nuclear power plants, The Express Tribune quoted budget documents as saying. An amount of Rs 34.6 billion has been allocated for the third and fourth reactors at the Chashma nuclear power complex.

The total cost of these two projects is Rs 190 billion, and they will be partially funded by a Chinese loan of Rs 136 billion.

The government has so far spent Rs 62.4 billion on the plants that will generate 660 MW. With Rs 34.6 billion in additional spending, the government will be able to complete almost half the work on the plants by June 2013, the report said.

To meet the growing energy deficit, the PAEC has been assigned an ambitious target of generating 8,800 MW of nuclear power by 2030. Pakistan is keen to seek assistance from China and France to meet the goal, according to a senior government official.

Due to inconsistency in policies, Pakistan's energy mix has drastically changed with hydro-power generation declining to a third and thermal generation increasing to two-thirds.