China to speed up construction of power project in PoK; will ties with India be hit again?

The company said in a statement that the project will help ease Pakistan’s power shortage and generate local employment. The report has not mentioned the new timeline for the project.

Karot Power Station has a capacity of 720 megawatts and China Three Gorges South Asia Investment has other power projects in Pakistan, including hydro, wind and solar power, which would largely solve Pakistan’s problem, it said.

“India has repeatedly expressed its concern over the project since the project is located in disputed Kashmir, but it won’t affect cooperation between China and Pakistan, because the ties are unshakable and will not target India,” the daily quoted Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of International Relations.

“With China’s support and assistance, Pakistan’s power shortage will very likely be solved by 2025, which means a main obstacle to Pakistan’s economic development will be removed,” Hu said.