China Three Gorges’ Pakistan dams will benefit electricity-starved country, says chief

China Three Gorges Corporation’s US$5.7 billion hydropower projects in Pakistan will have some environmental impact but the benefits to the electricity-starved country far outweigh these, the company’s general manager told South China Morning Post.

The state-owned hydropower developer is building its flagship US$1.7 billion Karot hydropower station in the Kashmir region, and is planning another two with a combined investment of US$5.7 billion. The Karot project faces some environmental concerns, while its location has invited opposition from India, which has been involved in a territorial dispute with Pakistan over the region.

“A few of our projects are located in the Azad Kashmir region, but far from the border line, so it won’t affect … the projects,” Wang Lin, the general manager, told the Post.

He said the project’s impact downstream could be mitigated by scientific development.

Quite a number of sluices and reservoirs have been built on the River Jhelum, a tributary of the Indus, and through “scientific coordination” water resources can be utilised to their maximum, Wang said. Fears over upstream water being diverted are unnecessary, he said, because the amount of water being diverted is small and its impact can be minimised through the sluices and reservoirs upstream.

The company has also committed to a 150 million yuan (US$22.6 million) programme to protect the environment where the construction is taking place, especially for waste water treatment. It will restore the terrain once construction is finished.

The 720 megawatt Karot project will generate 3.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity a year and directly create more than 3,000 jobs during the construction period. The station will be operational by around 2020 and will be transferred to Pakistan without compensation after a 30-year operation period.