ISLAMABAD, Jul 6 (Kashif Mir):Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Lt Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa on Monday said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) made another achievement by signing the project of Azad Pattan Hydel power.
“CPEC makes another milestone achievement; Prime Minister Imran Khan will grace the signing ceremony of Azad Pattan Hydel power Project today with China Gezhouba,” Bajwa who is also head of CPEC Authority said in a tweet.
He said the country was moving towards cheaper and greener power as after completion of hydel power projects there would be no fuel import for electricity generation.
He said this project would be completed with an investment of $1.5 billion.
It may be mentioned here that the Azad Pattan Hydropower Project is a 700 MW hydroelectric power station on the Jhelum River roughly 7 km upstream of Azad Pattan Bridge in the Sudhanoti District of Azad Kashmir.
What is Azad Pattan hydropower project?
Last year in November, Pakistan and China agreed to include 700 megawatts Azad Pattan hydropower project under the CPEC. which is to be financed through Chinese currency.
Azad Pattan hydropower project is a run-of-the-river scheme on the River Jhelum, in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir, with a capability of four hours of daily peaking.
The project would be located near the Azad Pattan bridge upstream of 720 MW Karot hydropower project and downstream of 640 MW Mahal hydropower project and would be part of the River Jhelum hydel cascade.
The project would deliver approximately 3.3 billion units of clean, renewable energy in the grid after its completion in 2026.
Being developed under the 2002 power policy, the project would be transferred free of cost to the government after the term.
Azad Pattan Power Private Limited (“Company” or “APPL”) is the owner and developer of 700.7 MW hydroelectric power generating complex known as Azad Pattan Hydro Power Project (the “Project” or “Azad Pattan HPP”) on River Jhelum in district Sudhnoti, Azad Jammu & Kashmir (“AJ&K”).
The Project is being developed under the Government of Pakistan Policy for Power Generation 2002 (as adopted by AJ&K) on Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis, whereby it would be transferred to the Government of AJ&K free of cost at the end of a 30-year concession term.
Azad Pattan HPP is one of the cascade project planned by the Government of Pakistan on River Jhelum comprising (from upstream to downstream) Chakoti Hattian, Kohala, Mahal, Azad Pattan and Karot. Once commissioned, the Project shall be generating more than 3.265 billion units of clean energy per year.
Letter of Support (“LOS”) was issued by Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) on June 30th, 2016. The construction period of the Project is sixty-nine (69) months and energy generation from the Project is expected to commence by the year 2024.
