Khushab Nuclear complex
nuclear power plant in Punjab, Pakistan
The Khushab Nuclear Complex (or simply Khushab Complex) is a plasma physics and heavy water research complex situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the town of Jauharabad in Khushab District, Punjab, Pakistan.
Planning of the complex started in 1973 but the construction of the complex was commenced in 1985 to produce plutonium, deutrium, and tritium.
Various organizations have built and contributed in building the reactor and is commonly called "the Complex". Four currently operating reactors have capacities variously reported at between 40 MWth to 50 MWth, and as high as 70 MWth. In total, they are estimated to be capable of producing 44 kilograms (97 lb) of specially graded plutonium annually, and their absence of usage in civilian energy has been attracted much publicized international criticism.
Pakistan's first indigenous nuclear reactor was commissioned at Khushab in March 1996. The Khushab Nuclear Complex was conceived and planned by the then chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Munir Ahmad Khan, who began work on the 50 MWth Khushab-I reactor and heavy water plant in 1986. He appointed nuclear engineer Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood and Dr. N.A. Javed, both from the PAEC, as the Project-Directors for the reactor and the heavy water plant respectively. According to a Pakistani press report this reactor began operating in early 1998.
“Khushab Nuclear complex” enters the record as nuclear power plant in Punjab, Pakistan. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Khushab, Nuclear and complex can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6403171. Authority coordinates are 30.107, 71.167. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1973, 1985, 1996 and 1986.
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This entry incorporates text from “Khushab Nuclear complex” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.