China has agreed to sell Pakistan another nuclear power plant next year to help solve its energy problems, reported agencies quoting Pakistan government officials Wednesday.

Requesting anonymity, officials said the plant, to be built in Chashma, 225 km southwest of Islamabad, will be able to generate 600 megawatts of power. A similar Chinese built plant with the same capacity exists there since the early 1990s.

The deal for the second reactor was supposed to have been signed during President Pervez Musharraf's visit to China last month, but was delayed owing to last minute negotiations.

Presiding over the 31st meeting of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Council on December 2, Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali stressed the importance of cheap electricity and said energy resources should be exploited to the maximum for the country's rapid development.

He then went on to praise the council for its contribution to the defence sector, and directed it to prepare Vision 2025 for the development of nuclear power plants.

He also asked officials to continue negotiations with China to make sure that the Chasma power plant is completed in time.