Pakistan announces hydropower project worth $1.5bn in PoK

The project which is called Azad Pattan Hydropower Project is an initiative undertaken by the government under the Policy for Power Generation 2002. (Representational photo)

A new hydropower project with an estimated cost of $1.51 billion is being set up by the Pakistan government on the banks of river Jhelum in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The project is expected to be complete by 2022 with the help of foreign funds, the Express Tribune reported.

The project which is called Azad Pattan Hydropower Project is an initiative undertaken by the government under the Policy for Power Generation 2002, according to the documents with Pakistan’s central power board National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).

“Hydropower contributes about 16% of global electricity and Pakistan has 28% hydropower in its energy mix. The declining trend in hydropower over the years has been caused by rapidly growing thermal capacity compared with hydropower growth and hydropower, which now accounts for only 28 % of the total installed capacity of Pakistan,” according to the document at NEPRA.

The authorities have sought an import tariff of Rs 8.05 per kilowatts, but the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G) proposed a tariff of Rs 8.50 per unit (kWh) under the NEPRA Import of Power Regulations, 2017.

The cost of the project will be 75 per cent debt, mostly foreign debt, and 25 per cent equity. With a debt repayment period of 18 years including a six-year grace period. The project is expected to be completed within six years.