The K2 reactor at the Karachi nuclear power plant in Pakistan. [Photo/CNNC]

Two key circulating water pumps at the 2PS pump room of the K2 unit at the Karachi nuclear power plant in Pakistan were successfully tested with load on March 18, according to local reports.

Project officials said that all parameters qualified and the operation was stable -- laying a solid foundation for the unit’s hot performance test.

The total weight of a single circulating pump is 123 tons and the motor power is 9,000 kilowatts. Its function is to provide cooling water for the conventional islands of nuclear power plants and it is one of the most important equipment of nuclear power plants.

The K2 unit is the first overseas unit adopting China’s Hualong One nuclear reactor technology, also known as HPR 1000, a domestically developed third-generation reactor design.