Photo taken on October 24, 2020 shows an Orange Line metro train pilot test run in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore. The Orange Line Metro Train project is one of the CPEC early-harvest projects. Photo: Xinhua

 
The Karot hydropower project, a major energy tie-up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), would provide Pakistan with stable and affordable energy and improve the South Asian nation's energy structure, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Monday.

Once the project is fully operational, it will provide stable and cheap energy to Pakistan and meet electricity demand for roughly 5 million locals, Zhao told a regular press conference. 

The project is expected to improve Pakistan's energy structure and push the country's sustainable development, Zhao said.

It's estimated that the Karot hydropower project would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 3.5 million tons per year, foster the global push for carbon neutrality and make new contributions to dealing with global climate change, he said, hoping for the project to be completed and up and running in the fastest possible manner.

The CPEC is a major and pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative. It's also a significant platform for bilateral comprehensive and pragmatic cooperation that holds to the principles of greenness, openness and integrity, and it is committed to fulfilling the goals of sustainability, improving people's livelihoods and aiming for high standards, the spokesperson commented.

Energy cooperation under the CPEC has achieved fruitful results since its launch, effectively helping Pakistan in overcoming energy shortages and offering sufficient energy supplies for Pakistan's economic and industrial development, he went on to say.

The spokesperson made the remarks in response to a question about Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's visit to the project.

"Hydroelectricity is much more cost-effective ... it is also a clean source of power generation," Sharif said on Wednesday while speaking to the engineers and workers of the hydropower project during his visit, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

The project is expected to generate some 3.2 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity per year, Xinhua reported. 

Invested in by the China Three Gorges Corp, the Karot hydropower project in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province is the fourth level of the five cascade hydropower stations planned for the Jhelum River. 

Global Times