Pak clears hydropower project in PoK

The Pakistan government today approved the construction of the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, a move that could give the country "priority rights" over India to the use of the waters of the Neelum river.

The project, estimated to cost 128.4 billion Pakistani rupees or $2 billion, will be built by a consortium comprising China Gezhouba Water and Power Company, and China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation (CMEC) in eight years.

Chairing a meeting of the Cabinet that cleared the project, caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro said the "strategically important" project would help secure Pakistan's rights over Neelum-Jhelum waters and go a long way in bridging the energy gap in the country by generating 969 Mw of electricity.

Under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 between India and Pakistan, the country which finishes its project first on the Neelum would get "priority rights" to the use of the river's waters. Pakistan plans to divert the Neelum's waters at Nauseri, about 40 km from the PoK capital of Muzaffarabad.

The project envisages the construction of a 47-km tunnel to divert the water from Nauseri to the power station.

It also involves a foreign exchange component of 46.5 billion Pakistani rupees. The project will be executed by the Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Project Company.