The Suki Kinari Hydropower Project will be a run-of-the-river hydropower plant located on the Kunhar river in the Kaghan valley with an installed capacity of 870 MW and an annual generation of 2,958 GWh. Already in 1960, this project was proposed and underlined through a feasibility study but could only be finalized in 2016.
Picture Credit: SK Hydro
Project Information
Project name
Suki Kinari Hydropower Project
Type
Energy 
Location
Kaghan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
BRI Corridor
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
Current Status
A feasibility study was already conducted in 1960 from multiple international organisations, including German GTZ. But only in 2014 an implementation agreement for the Suki Kinari Hydropower Project could be signed. It is currently under construction.
Start of Construction
2016
Expected completion Date
December 2022
Chinese Involvement
Financing, Operation
Projected Total Project Costs
USD 1.8 billion
Capacity
870 MW, designed to produce 3050 GWh annually. It is expected to increase Pakistan’s annual generation by 3,212,000,000 KWh.
Electricity Pricing
The Government of Pakistan has agreed to purchase electricity from SK Hydro at a cost of 8.8415 US cents per kilowatt hour for 30 years. After those 30 years the project will be handed over to the Pakistani government free of charge.
Operator
SK Hydro
Financing
The Export Import Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China provide a loan for the project. The project achieved financial close on December 31, 2016.
Constructors
The dam is being developed by Pakistan’s SK Hydro Group, which was especially set up for the development and construction of this project, and China’s Gezhouba Group. The government of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, announced on August 24, 2016 that it has signed an agreement with SK Hydro group and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to develop and construct the dam.
Additional Project Information
It will not cause large scale displacement of populations as no villages or towns will be inundated by the resulting dam’s reservoir. The Project is listed as an Early Harvest Project, which have the highest priority within the strategic CPEC. Despite the obvious CPEC involvement of the Project, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa disputes this, arguing that financing for the project predates the announcement of CPEC.