ISLAMABAD -  International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday approved Pakistan’s request for the application of safeguards for Nuclear Power Plant Units K-2 and K-3.

These two units are pressurised water reactors of 1,100 megawatts electric (MWe) each and are being acquired from China, said a foreign ministry statement.

“The IAEA Board of Governors has approved Pakistan’s request for the application of safeguards for Nuclear Power Plant Units K-2 and K-3. These two units are pressurised water reactors of 1,100 MWs each and are being acquired from China,” the statement said.

The ministry said that civil nuclear power generation was an important component of Pakistan’s energy security policy and a vital developmental imperative.

“These power plants will serve as important vehicle to help meet Pakistan’s increasing energy needs and support sustained economic growth and industrial development,” it said.

Pakistan, it added, had the rare distinction of keeping all its civilian nuclear facilities under the IAEA safeguards signifying its commitment to global objectives of non-proliferation.

In June 2013, the Planning Commission had announced that two CNNC 1,000 MWe class reactors would be used for Karachi 2 and 3 (KANUPP 2 and 3) near Karachi unit 1.

Two coastal sites had been under consideration for the twin 1100 MWe units. CNNC in April 2013 unveiled an export agreement for the ACP1000, nominally 1100 MWe, apparently for Pakistan.

This was confirmed in June by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), which said that the next nuclear project would be 1,100 MWe class units.