ISLAMABAD 2 September 2024 (TDI): Suki Kinari Hydropower project under CPEC framework is addressing environmental issues besides provision of electricity to one million households, experts has said.
The first unit of the project was linked to national grid in Mansehra last months and work on several projects is near completion.
Data in official documents reveals that once fully functional, the Suki Kinari Hydropower project will provide about 3.2 billion units of clean electricity annually.
This will cause 1.3m tonnes decrease in use of coal for energy purpose shrinking carbon dioxide emissions by 2.5m tonnes annually.
China is investing billion of dollars for enhancing power capacity of Pakistan by adding more than 8,200MW to the national grid.
In addition, until now China has brought a total of $25.4bn in direct investment with several other projects worth billions of dollars.
Some of them in the execution stage, creating 155,000 direct jobs, building 510km of motorways and expressways, adding more of new power capacity.
It is also building 886km of core power transmission grid to Pakistan in the first phase of the Corridor initiative.
It is encouraging that in these investment environmental impact is kept in mind.
According to a research report, climate change played a substantial role in the devastating floods of 2022, which had a direct impact on over 30 million people in Pakistan, it resulted in the loss of lives, damage to public infrastructure, and displacement from homes.
Besides, In an interview with Global Times Mustafa Hyder Sayed, executive director of the Pakistan-China Institute, said that Pakistan and China are deepening cooperation in emerging green sectors through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
