The first unit of the Suki Kinari Hydropower Station, a flagship project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the largest greenfield hydropower project by a Chinese company overseas, has been connected to Pakistan’s grid.
The power station, constructed by China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited, is located on the Kunhar River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and is 265 kilometers from the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Suki Kinari is a diversion-type hydropower station, featuring long tunnels and ultra-high water heads.
The first unit of the Suki Kinari Hydropower Station has been connected to Pakistan’s grid. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
With a total investment figure of 14.04 billion yuan ($1.96 billion), the station has a water head of over 900 meters, includes four impulse turbines, with a total installed capacity of 884 megawatts and a total reservoir capacity of 13.45 million cubic meters.
As a landmark project in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, to date, the SK Hydropower Station boasts the largest single-unit impulse turbine generators and the deepest pressure shaft clusters to be constructed by a Chinese company overseas.
Once fully operational, the station is expected to generate an annual output of 3.21 billion kilowatt-hours, saving on the equivalent of approximately 1.28 million tons of standard coal annually and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 3.2 million tons. This will provide affordable and clean electricity to over one million households in Pakistan.
During peak construction periods, the project created 6,600 jobs, significantly boosting socio-economic development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
(Executive editor: Zhu Zeya)
