Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP), Pakistan’s first nuclear plant, is undergoing a 2.2GW capacity extension with two pressurized water reactor units of Chinese design (PWR, Hualong 1).

This historical power plant has been in service with a single 137MW reactor unit (Kanupp-1) since 1972. It is owned and operated by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).

The construction of the Kanupp-2 and Kanupp-3 reactors begun in August 2015 and May 2016, with the start of commercial operations scheduled for 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Dextra Griptec coupler was selected for the connection of steel rebars to reinforce the reactor’s concrete shell, designed to successfully withstand an aircraft crash (APC).

More than 1 million units of Griptec standard, position, and transition couplers, mainly in diameter 40mm, have been delivered.

Griptec is well-known for its reliability and performance in tension, compression, and fatigue, thanks to the unique design of the product that complies with the world’s most stringent projects specifications, especially for nuclear reactor building construction.

Sellafield is a now decommissioned nuclear plant site specialized in the fuel reprocessing and decommissioning of others UK and international reactors. It is located in Cumbria, in the North West of England.

Dextra has been involved in supplying rebar connection solution for the construction of new buildings in 2008 through its local rebar fabricator partner in the UK.

Griptec was the preferred rebar splicing solution as it’s if certified TA1-A, TA1-B and TA1-C (“Sellafield” certification level), the three main levels of rebar splice certifications by CARES.

Griptec features an unmatched performance level and an automatic testing process which systematically tests all the connections produced as part of its standard cycle: a guarantee that 100% of the connections perform above the project requirement.

More than 80,000 Griptec connections have been used on the project, mostly for wall applications.