ISLAMABAD, Sep 26 (APP):Managing Director of China Energy International Group’s Pakistan Wang Huihua on Tuesday said the construction work on the 884-megawatt Suki Kinari (SK) Hydropower Project was being carried out at a fast-track basis under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiatives.
The run-of-the-Kunhar-river hydropower project would create over 4,250 employment opportunities besides contributing significant electricity to the national grid, he said while talking to APP.
Wang Huihua expressed confidence the SK hydropower project was expected to complete by the end of the current year or mid of 2024 as its powerhouse and reservoir section were in the final phases of completion.
However, he said the 24-kilometer-long Hades Tunnel was the most challenging part of the project due to difficult terrain, harsh weather conditions during winter and water drainage problems.
He said highly-skilled manpower coupled with state-of-the-art machinery had been deployed at the tunnel sites, adding “excavation and lining work is currently underway both upstream and downstream.”
Under the SK hydropower project, Wang Huihua said, around three billion units of affordable electricity would be added to the national grid per annum.
Answering a question, he said the pace of the project faced delay due to the COVID-19 epidemic, however now the construction work was continuing day and night.
“The completion of this hydropower plant will play an important role in the industrial development and economic recovery of Pakistan,” he remarked.
