Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan formally inaugurated the 436 million US dollars 147 MW Patrind Hydropower Project on river Kunhar. This is a run-of-river project that had been completed by Star Hydro Power Limited, an Independent Power Producer (IPP) and was located near village Patrind, District Muzaffarabad of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
This Project shall generate, on average, 632 GWh of electricity annually. Under the project the water of river Kunhar would be diverted through a weir, located near village Patrind, and a left bank conveyance system of headrace tunnel to the right bank of river Jhelum, near the city of Muzaffarabad, where a powerhouse had been built.
The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the initiation of commercial operations of the Patrind Hydropower plant and its timely completion.
He hoped that the IPP project would help meet the demand of electricity for Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
He termed it a landmark achievement for Pakistan and Korea cooperation and appreciated Daewoo for its long term commitment with Pakistan.
He hoped that it would be sufficient to meet the demand during the next summers as well.
He said several other projects were in different phases of completion and hoped the power generation would further go up.
He cited the projects of Lowari Tunnel and Diamer Bhasha Dam that despite several promises and inaugural plaques failed to make any headway.
The prime minister said the federal government accords high priority to projects in Azad Kashmir and said several other projects were in different phases of completion.
He assured that the government fully stands by the AJK government and would continue to facilitate its development projects. He said the PML-N government provided record funds to the provinces and said it doubled the funding for AJK from Rs11 billion to Rs22 billion.
