On December 28, 2016, the 340MW CHASNUPP Unit 3 (C-3) was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. As the designer and technical supporter of C-3, Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research & Design Institute (SNERDI) was invited to attend the inauguration ceremony.

Mr Sharif said that C-3 is the witness of Sino-Pakistan relationship, and it holds promise for more stable and sustainable development between the two nations. He expected the C-4 unit to be commissioned by April 2017 and Pakistan will have four commercially operational nuclear units that could supply about 4.4% of the country’s electricity needs.

C-3, about 200km southwest of the capital Islamabad in Punjab province, was connected to the grid on 15 October 2016 and its power level has since been gradually increased to 100%. C-3 is a SNERDI-designed CNP-300 pressurized water reactor, construction of which began in May 2011.

The Chasnupp nuclear station now has three commercially operational CNP-300s. C-1 began commercial operation in September 2000 and C-2 in May 2011. According to data by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Pakistan began construction of a fourth CNP-300 unit, C-4, in December 2011.