“Our end point, Vajihar in the Thar region, is a desert area with an arid climate and sparse population. This project will effectively solve the over-exploitation of groundwater to improve the local ecological environment for Vajihar side,” emphasized Wu. Besides, as for employment, the project will create approximately 6,000 jobs in the surrounding area with significant social benefits. “We will recruit project management team including but not limited to(contract engineers, planning engineers, construction engineers, HSE engineers, quality control engineers, civil engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, etc.), construction team and the other skilled personnel.

Besides, the project will also create job opportunities during the operation and maintenance phase once the project construction phase is completed,” Wu told Gwadar Pro. “Given the local situation of economic development, our CSR also include vocational training for local people, providing opportunities to boost overall industrial chain development.” Pakistan’s domestic water resources are scarce, with Karachi, the largest city, still has no running water supply. Therefore, Pakistan’s water sector development has a broad market space.

The Nabisar Vajihar project is not only the first project of POWERCHINA to enter local water sector based on the deep cultivation of hydropower, thermal power and new energy markets in Pakistan, but also the first project of tripartite cooperation between China, Pakistan and Kuwait in recent years, with self-evident significance to the diversified energy cooperation under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Belt and Road Initiative.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP