China’s Three Gorges Project Corporation has proposed a $15bn hydropower scheme to Pakistan to dam the Indus river valley at several points, in a project aimed at controlling floods and tackling electricity shortages, Pakistan’s natural resources minister said on Tuesday.
The deal, pitched by the builders of the Yangtze river dam, the world’s largest, is the latest example of Chinese interest in Pakistan, as the latter tries to develop natural gas, oil, coal and hydropower resources to boost its flagging economy.
Asim Hussain, Pakistan’s minister for petroleum and natural resources, told the Financial Times that Three Gorges had met with the government and proposed a $15bn hydroelectric master plan for the Indus, and to fund a $50m survey to lay the groundwork.