Imran Khan said the project was an investment and would not be a burden on the country.
Islamabad:
A Chinese company signed a $ 1.5 billion deal with Pakistan on Monday to set up a Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) hydroelectric project as part of the ambitious CPEC project.
Prime Minister Imran Khan witnessed the signing of the “Azad Pattan Hydroelectric Project” agreement with China Gezhouba during a ceremony there.
The project is located in the Sadhanoti district of PoK on the Jhelum River and is expected to be completed in 2026.
The CPEC, which links the port of Gwadar in Balochistan to the Chinese province of Xinjiang, is the flagship project of the ambitious Belt and Road (BRI) initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Originally valued at $ 46 billion, CPEC projects were worth $ 62 billion in 2017.
India has protested to China against the CPEC while it is being filed through the PoK.
The Department of External Affairs said earlier this year that Pakistan had been informed that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the regions of Gilgit and Baltistan, were an integral part of India and that Islamabad should immediately leave the areas under illegal occupation.
“Part of the Sino-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with an investment of 1.5 billion USD, 700.7 MW, Azad Pattan will not involve any import of fuel, thus allowing the country to move towards less energy expensive and greener while generating local job opportunities, “said an official statement issued by the government of Pakistan.
Addressing the ceremony, Prime Minister Khan said the project was an investment and would not be a burden on the country.
“We have learned a lot from China’s development and the CPEC project will take Pakistan to the top,” he said.
Last month, a Chinese official admitted that the majority of BRI projects were either negatively or partially affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Wang Xiaolong, director general of the international economic affairs department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about a fifth of the BIS projects have been “severely affected” by the pandemic.
About 40 percent of the projects were “negatively affected” and 30 to 40 percent were “somewhat affected,” said Wang.
Projects that were discontinued included the CPEC.
