270 Chinese to take part in Suki-Kinari hydropower project

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has allowed as many as 270 Chinese technicians under a special protocol to provide expertise for the Suki-Kinari hydropower project, being built alongside Kunhar River in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said.

Technicians from Chengdu will arrive via Air China’s chartered plane on August 12. The Civil Aviation Agency (CAA) has made special arrangements for their arrival as a gesture of goodwill towards the ‘iron brother’ – as China is known in Pakistan.

Official said the Chinese embassy has promised that nucleic acid testing for COVID-19 will be conducted for all passengers before departure and only those who test negative will be allowed to travel.The Suki Kinari HPP is an under construction run-of-the-river hydropower project located on the Kunhar river in the Kaghan valley of Mansehra District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

It will generate 870 megawatts of power when it will be completed in 2022. The completion of this hydropower plant will play an important role in promoting Pakistan’s industrial development and economic recovery.