CPEC includes Kashmir hydropower project

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have agreed to include 700 megawatts of Azad Pattan hydropower project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework. This project would be financed through Chinese currency.

According to the details, meetings for CPEC in October and November approved the project for inclusion in the CPEC list. This will assist the project to reach early financial close, start construction next year and also arrange its financing in Chinese currency. This also means other facilities available to CPEC projects, which would expedite the project and bring down the tariff.

Azad Pattan hydropower project is a run-of-the-river pondage scheme on the River Jhelum, in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir, with capability of four hours of daily peaking.

The project would be located near the Azad Pattan bridge upstream of 720 MW Karot hydropower project and downstream of 640 MW Mahal hydropower project and would be part of the River Jhelum hydel cascade.

The project would deliver approximately 3.3 billion units of clean, renewable energy in the grid after its completion in 2026. Being developed under the 2002 power policy, the project would be transferred free of cost to the government after the term.

National Electric Power Regulatory Authority approved tariff of US cent 7.1/kilowatt-hour (kWh), the lowest one for hydropower to date. The tariff would fall to around US cent 4/kWh after the debt payment period of 12 years, and to around US cent 1/ kWh after the concession term (30 years) throughout its remaining life.

All are subject to indexation as allowed under the power policies. The River Jhelum cascade is developing the potential of the flowing river water with (upstream to downstream). The projects include 1,124 MW (Kohala), 640 MW (Mahl), 700 MW (Azad Pattan) and 720 MW (Karot) – a total of 3,184 MW and generating some 15 billion kWh annually. The power output accounts for approximately 10 percent of the country’s total electricity generation. River cascade development enables the maximum and most efficient use of the river water.