Silk Road Fund to bring hydropower, jobs to Pakistan

Power outages in Pakistan are expected to drop in the next five years as the country's new Karot Hydropower Project, the first project of the Silk Road Fund initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping, connects to the energy grid.

Located about 65 kilometers away from Islamabad along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the hydropower plant is currently under construction, with the first unit scheduled connect to the grid by April 2021.

"We're trying to make it ahead of schedule," said Li Zhili, deputy team leader of Karot Power Company.

"The construction started on December 1, 2016. Now the work is going smoothly and 12 percent of the whole project has been finished."

Li said the 720-megawatt plant will produce 3.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity every year, which will save Pakistan from burning 1.5 million tons of coal. When the plant comes into full operation, it'll provide around 10 percent of the total energy gap.

The construction of the power plant is benefiting the local community as well by providing employment opportunities. China Three Gorges Corporation is designing and building the plant; however, most of the workers are locals.

"Now at this site, we have over 1,800 Pakistani workers and around 650 Chinese workers," said He Wenzhan, chief engineer of the Yangtze Three Gorges Technology and Development. "We set up a mechanism to let skilled Chinese workers train the new Pakistani workers."

After receiving three months of training, Adeel Shahzad has become a skilled operator at the water-processing factory of the project. He said he's happy that he could learn a new skill while getting paid well in a safe working environment.

"There is a difference between outside companies and this company," said Shahzad. "I am satisfied with my income. And the company is a very safe place, and my Chinese bosses are very careful about my health, my safety and my work."

In addition to the Karot plant, China Three Gorges Corp. is building the biggest wind power base in southern Pakistan, which will benefit half a million local people.