PAEC Foundation Signs Contract for 5MW Hydropower Plant at Chashma-5
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Foundation has signed a contract to build a 5-megawatt hydropower plant at the outfall of the Chashma-5 Nuclear Power Plant, adding another small-scale renewable energy project to Pakistan’s electricity generation portfolio.
The project, officially known as Foundation Hydel Power Plant Unit-05 (FHPP-05), is expected to generate approximately 30.66 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually once operational.
Electricity generation is currently targeted to begin by September 2029.
The project is notable because it will use hydropower potential available at the Chashma-5 site while the much larger 1,200MW nuclear power unit is itself under construction.
What Is the Chashma FHPP-05 Hydropower Project?
FHPP-05 will be a 5MW hydropower facility constructed at the outfall of the Chashma-5 Nuclear Power Plant in Mianwali district.
Rather than representing another nuclear generating unit, it is a separate hydropower project designed to harness available water flow at the site.
According to information released about the project, the plant will contribute electricity to Pakistan’s national grid while allowing PAEC Foundation to make additional productive use of the site’s available water resources.
It will become the Foundation’s fifth hydropower plant.
How Much Electricity Will It Generate?
The new plant is expected to produce approximately 30.66 million kWh of electricity per year.
That is equivalent to roughly 30.66 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of annual generation.
Its 5MW installed capacity is small compared with Pakistan’s large conventional and nuclear power stations, but annual electricity generation is a more useful measure of its expected contribution than installed capacity alone.
Based on the projected annual generation, the plant would operate at an implied capacity factor of roughly 70 percent if the generation target is achieved.
Actual output after commissioning will depend on factors such as water availability, operating conditions, maintenance and grid requirements.
When Will the Plant Become Operational?
PAEC expects electricity generation from FHPP-05 to begin by September 2029.
This gives the project an implementation period of approximately three years from the contract signing.
As with other infrastructure projects, the September 2029 date should be regarded as the current target rather than a guaranteed commissioning date, since construction and testing schedules can change.
Who Will Build the Hydropower Plant?
The contract was signed between PAEC Foundation and a joint venture comprising three companies:
- China Ocean Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd.
- Ningbo Water Conservancy and Hydro Power Planning and Design Institute Co. Ltd.
- Habib Rafique Engineering (Pvt.) Ltd.
The agreement was signed at PAEC Headquarters.
Federal procurement records also show that PAEC Foundation had initiated procurement activity relating to civil works for its hydel power project at Chashma earlier in 2026.
What Is PAEC Foundation?
PAEC Foundation is the non-profit welfare arm associated with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.
Established in 1994, the Foundation works for the welfare of PAEC employees and their families while also undertaking commercial and development activities.
The Chashma project will expand its existing renewable-energy portfolio by adding a fifth hydropower facility.
This should not be confused with PAEC’s primary nuclear electricity-generation activities, which operate on a substantially larger scale.
Chashma-5 Is a Separate 1,200MW Nuclear Project
The location of the new hydropower project could create some confusion because it is being developed at the outfall of Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 (C-5).
The two projects are very different in scale and technology.
FHPP-05: 5MW hydropower project
Chashma-5: 1,200MW nuclear power project
PAEC officially lists Chashma-5 as a 1,200MW nuclear unit currently under construction at the Chashma site.
The groundbreaking ceremony for C-5 was held in July 2023.
Once completed, the nuclear unit will have approximately 240 times the installed capacity of the new 5MW hydropower facility.
The significance of FHPP-05 therefore lies less in its overall size and more in extracting additional renewable electricity from hydropower resources already available at the site.
Pakistan Currently Operates Six Nuclear Power Plants
PAEC currently operates six nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of 3,530MW, according to the commission.
Four are located at Chashma:
- C-1 — 325MW
- C-2 — 325MW
- C-3 — 340MW
- C-4 — 340MW
Two larger units operate near Karachi:
- K-2 — 1,100MW
- K-3 — 1,100MW
Together, these facilities supplied approximately 23.6 billion units of electricity to the national grid during 2025, representing around 18.5 percent of generation in the NTDC system, according to PAEC.
Chashma-5 will significantly increase PAEC’s nuclear generating capacity once it becomes operational.
Chashma-5 Recently Reached Another Important Milestone
The nuclear project has also been moving through international regulatory processes.
Earlier in September, Pakistan and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed a safeguards agreement covering the 1,200MW Chashma-5 project.
The agreement followed approval of the safeguards arrangement by the IAEA Board of Governors earlier in 2026.
IAEA safeguards are intended to verify that nuclear material and activities covered by the agreement remain consistent with applicable non-proliferation commitments.
The nuclear project and the new hydropower facility are separate developments, but both form part of the expanding energy infrastructure at the Chashma site.
Why Small Hydropower Projects Can Still Matter
A 5MW facility will not significantly change Pakistan’s overall electricity supply by itself.
Its value instead comes from using an existing energy resource that might otherwise remain underutilized.
Small hydropower projects can offer several advantages when suitable water infrastructure already exists.
They can provide renewable electricity without requiring the enormous reservoirs associated with some large hydropower projects, while making productive use of available water flows.
In the case of FHPP-05, the project is specifically designed to harness hydropower potential at the Chashma-5 outfall.
Pakistan Is Seeking More Renewable Electricity
The project also fits into Pakistan’s wider effort to diversify electricity generation.
Pakistan already obtains power from a combination of hydropower, nuclear energy, coal, natural gas, imported fuels, solar, wind and other sources.
Increasing domestic renewable generation can help reduce dependence on imported fuels, although the economic impact of individual projects depends on construction costs, financing, generation performance and grid integration.
In May 2026, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities to develop a broader strategy for meeting future energy requirements through sources including hydropower, solar and biogas.
When Will Consumers See Electricity From FHPP-05?
The current target is September 2029.
Before then, the project will have to move through construction, installation, testing and grid-integration stages.
Once commercial generation begins, the 5MW plant is expected to supply around 30.66 million kWh of electricity annually to the national grid.
Although modest compared with the 1,200MW Chashma-5 nuclear project beside it, FHPP-05 illustrates how existing infrastructure can potentially support additional electricity generation from more than one energy source.
For Pakistan’s energy sector, the project is therefore best viewed as a small but complementary renewable-energy development alongside the much larger expansion of nuclear generation underway at Chashma.