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Khushab-3

Other Name: N/A
Location: Khushab District, Punjab; Approximately 200km SW of Islamabad
Subordinate To: Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)
Size: 50MW
Facility Status: Under Construction

Once completed, Khusab-3 will reportedly be a 50MW plutonium production reactor. Construction began in 2006, and open source satellite imagery suggests that the reactor may be completed sometime in 2011. [1]

While Khushab-1 is moderated by light water, Khushab-3 may be moderated by heavy water. If so, plutonium production could be achieved utilizing less power. Assuming Khushab-2 and Khushab-3 will have production capabilities similar to Khushab-1, as fuel from both reactors becomes available for reprocessing, Pakistan's annual production of weapons-grade plutonium could triple. [2] The facility is not under IAEA safeguards.

Sources:
[1] David Albright and Paul Brannan, "Pakistan Appears to be Building a Third Plutonium Production Reactor at Khushab Nuclear Site," Institute for Science and International Security, 21 June 2007, www.isis-online.org; Paul Brannan, "Construction of Third Heavy Water Reactor at Khushab Nuclear Site in Pakistan Progressing," 5 October 2010, www.isis-online.org.
[2] Global Fissile Material Report 2010, Chapter 10, International Panel on Fissile Materials, December 2010, www.fissilematerials.org.

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This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, or agents. Copyright © 2011 by MIIS.

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