Pakistan would shortly be proposing to the United States and the western countries to build and own 13 new nuclear power plants in order to help generate the much-needed 8400 MW of electricity in the next 25 years, leading English language daily Dawn reported. The authorities of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) had requested President Pervez Musharraf to mitigate the concerns of the US and the western world about proliferation by ensuring that the new plants would work under "full safeguards" of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The government would ask the US and western countries to make investment in certain "designated zones and parks" by partly or fully owning the proposed 13 new nuclear power plants in the country, the newspaper reported. While cooperation with China was going on for developing another 300 MW Chashma-2 power plant in Pakistan, the PAEC wanted such cooperation with some other countries by taking into confidence the US and western world. "We may propose to the US and the west to build these new nuclear power plants on the basis of full ownership or have a joint venture with us and the entire process would be carried out in consultation with the IAEA," an official told the paper. --more 1315 Local Time 1015 GMT
