Diamer-Bhasha dam gets excluded from CPEC: Can Pakistan build it on its own?

[koolio]

Ha Ha so many fake promises apart from motorways and metros, doesnt seem to be a priority for the corrupt GOP, because there is no easy money to be made from the pot like the metro project.

 

[Laozi]

Pak rejects Chinese help for dam project in Azad Kashmir over 'tough conditions'


HIGHLIGHTS

• Pakistan has turned down China’s offer of assistance for the $14-billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam
• Islamabad is learnt to have asked China to take the project out of the CPEC
• The project is located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (Azad Kashmir), which is claimed by India

Chana Pakistan Economic Corridor: Pak rejects Chinese help for dam project in Azad Kashmir over 'tough conditions'
BEIJING: Pakistan has turned down China's offer of assistance for the $14-billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam+
, according to a leading Pakistan daily.

Moreover, Islamabad is learnt to have asked China to take the project out of the $60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and allow it to build the dam on its own. The project is located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir(Azad Kashmir), which is claimed by India.

The Asian Development Bank had earlier refused+ to finance the project because it was to come up in a disputed territory. Express Tribune cited a top official saying Pakistan would prefer to self-finance the project instead of accepting extremely tough conditions set by Chinese companies.

Sources in Pakistan said international lenders were linking serious conditions with the provision of funding, and the project cost had reached $14 billion against the original estimates of $5 billion.

Express Tribune quoted chairman of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Muzammil Hussain as saying, "Chinese conditions for financing the Diamer-Bhasha Dam were not doable and against our interests."

Hussain said this while briefing the public accounts committee (PAC) of parliament, and added that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has approved a plan to finance the dam from the country's own resources.

The report caused huge surprise to knowledgeable sources in Beijing, some of whom were in denial and said Pakistan was unlikely to spring a nasty surprise without first consulting Chinese authorities.

A Beijing-based Chinese expert said Pakistan would not risk turning down Beijing's offer because it would impact the CPEC as a whole.


Speaking on condition of anonymity, the expert told TOI, "I think Chinese diplomats in Islamabad would have known if Pakistan was unhappy with the financing and would have alerted Beijing. But this is not the case because Pakistan's planning minister asked for Chinese funds for several dam projects including this one only a few days back."


In his presentation to the parliamentary committee, Hussain said China wanted Pakistan to pledge an existing dam project to obtain funds for the new one, besides pay interests and other charges.


Chinese conditions were about taking ownership of the project, operation, and maintenance costs, and security of the Diamer-Bhasha project by pledging another operational dam, the paper quoted Hussain as saying.


Taking a different view, former Indian diplomat M K Bhadrakumar said, "I don't get the sense of a discord here. China has left it to Pakistan to decide whether it wants to go ahead with the Diamer-Bhasha dam as a OBOR initiative, where Beijing is, conceptually speaking, increasingly conforming to international practices and injecting financial viability, efficiency and transparency in the execution of such infrastructural projects."

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...for-Azad Kashmir-dam/articleshow/61662966.cms

 

[ziaulislam]

just build the reserviour first
just building a reserviour will enebale billions of units production

 

[Canuck786]

Pak rejects Chinese help for dam project in Azad Kashmir over 'tough conditions'


HIGHLIGHTS

• Pakistan has turned down China’s offer of assistance for the $14-billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam
• Islamabad is learnt to have asked China to take the project out of the CPEC
• The project is located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (Azad Kashmir), which is claimed by India

Chana Pakistan Economic Corridor: Pak rejects Chinese help for dam project in Azad Kashmir over 'tough conditions'
BEIJING: Pakistan has turned down China's offer of assistance for the $14-billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam+
, according to a leading Pakistan daily.

Moreover, Islamabad is learnt to have asked China to take the project out of the $60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and allow it to build the dam on its own. The project is located in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir(Azad Kashmir), which is claimed by India.

The Asian Development Bank had earlier refused+ to finance the project because it was to come up in a disputed territory. Express Tribune cited a top official saying Pakistan would prefer to self-finance the project instead of accepting extremely tough conditions set by Chinese companies.

Sources in Pakistan said international lenders were linking serious conditions with the provision of funding, and the project cost had reached $14 billion against the original estimates of $5 billion.

Express Tribune quoted chairman of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Muzammil Hussain as saying, "Chinese conditions for financing the Diamer-Bhasha Dam were not doable and against our interests."

Hussain said this while briefing the public accounts committee (PAC) of parliament, and added that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has approved a plan to finance the dam from the country's own resources.

The report caused huge surprise to knowledgeable sources in Beijing, some of whom were in denial and said Pakistan was unlikely to spring a nasty surprise without first consulting Chinese authorities.

A Beijing-based Chinese expert said Pakistan would not risk turning down Beijing's offer because it would impact the CPEC as a whole.


Speaking on condition of anonymity, the expert told TOI, "I think Chinese diplomats in Islamabad would have known if Pakistan was unhappy with the financing and would have alerted Beijing. But this is not the case because Pakistan's planning minister asked for Chinese funds for several dam projects including this one only a few days back."


In his presentation to the parliamentary committee, Hussain said China wanted Pakistan to pledge an existing dam project to obtain funds for the new one, besides pay interests and other charges.


Chinese conditions were about taking ownership of the project, operation, and maintenance costs, and security of the Diamer-Bhasha project by pledging another operational dam, the paper quoted Hussain as saying.


Taking a different view, former Indian diplomat M K Bhadrakumar said, "I don't get the sense of a discord here. China has left it to Pakistan to decide whether it wants to go ahead with the Diamer-Bhasha dam as a OBOR initiative, where Beijing is, conceptually speaking, increasingly conforming to international practices and injecting financial viability, efficiency and transparency in the execution of such infrastructural projects."

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...for-Azad Kashmir-dam/articleshow/61662966.cms

Just a small correction..

This dam is planned in the area of Gilgit Baltistan and not Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

 

[bafxet]

First Chinese stopped work on transmission line,now exclude dam from CPEC.....something's cooking

Exactly...are they scaling down the OBOR, because of an uncontrolled security situation in Baluchistan?

 

[khanmubashir]

Diamer-Bhasha dam gets excluded from CPEC

Five ground-breaking ceremonies for Diamer-Bhasha Dam has been carried out in last fifteen years

By News Desk -
November 15, 2017
0
63

ISLAMABAD: China’s demand of ownership rights and other strict conditions for Diamer-Bhasha dam has forced Pakistan to exclude this project from China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

This was stated by Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Muzammil Hussain on Tuesday, reported a local newspaper. Hussain said Chinese conditions for financing Diamer-Bhasha dam weren’t workable and stood against the country’s interests.

He shared that Chinese conditions included taking ownership of project, operation and maintenance cost and securitization of Diamer-Bhasha project by promising another operational dam.

Considering these conditions as unacceptable, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi moved a summary saying that Pakistan would finance Diamer-Bhasha dam from its own resources.

This issue of removing the project from CPEC was also brought up during Cabinet Committee on CPEC which met last week.

PM Abbasi was apprised by Wapda Chairman and water resources secretary that the only solution to this problem was to fund this delayed project from its own resources.

This development comes merely days before the seventh JCC meeting scheduled to be held on November 21st in Islamabad. Around 15 prioritized energy projects valued at $22.4b and possessing 11,110MW generation capacity come under CPEC and majority of them are based on coal. Only two projects of 1,590MW capacity are hydel-based.

Pakistan has faced challenges in raising funding from international finance institutions due to fierce Indian opposition. There was optimism that Diamer-Bhasha project’s inclusion into CPEC would have finally resulted in its completion.

Five ground-breaking ceremonies for Diamer-Bhasha Dam have been carried out in last fifteen years. Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank and China have refused to finance the project, said Water Resources Secretary Shumail Khawaja.

Wapda Chairman alleged ADB for having destroyed the project and then refused to finance it besides holding it responsible for the delays. He said the project would cost Rs14b and PM Abbasi had agreed to break the scheme into dam storage and power generation.

As per new financing plan; federal government would give Rs30b per annum over a period of nine years from Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). Hussain shared WAPDA would provide 20pc equity from its own resources, whereas funding for setting-up of power plants would come from commercial sources.

Work on Diamer-Bhasha dam will begin in 2018 and it would take nine years for the project to be completed and power generation site construction will begin 2.5 years after its initiation.

I believe it to be a renegotiation tactic we r pushing China for better deal
Also possible we r looking towards other parties like Turkey or Saudi who won't take Indian pressure much as wb does

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

Please wait for Turkey as she is getting exponentially strong holds on high altitude dam and hydroelectric projects!!! I hope Turkey will take the lead in such projects in AJK and KPK....

 

[Clutch]

Exactly...are they scaling down the OBOR, because of an uncontrolled security situation in Baluchistan?

Could be... security concerns are a critical factor. Pakistan needs to get its act together.... India has allocated $500 million for terror activities against CPEC.

 

[!eon]

First Chinese stopped work on transmission line,now exclude dam from CPEC.....something's cooking

I was just thinking why there's not a single modi-trol-boy on this thread
Thanks you are there, ever thinking about Akhand Bharat

 

[ziaulislam]

Just a political game , keeping door open for stealing from budget for the project intentionally kept to 9 year to steal and live off the funding don't want to give control to third party as funding / money won't be allocated

What was the problem in giving engineering access to the asset to Chinese firm

We care about the water saved , let someone else take share in electricity profits

Water Saved -> Pakistan
Water drinkable -> Pakistan
Agricultural gain -> Pakistan
Electricity profit > 60-40 (Pakistan/China)

What exactly is the deal with this arrangement ?

as i said name one project which govt has built from PSDP
none, nada, not a single penny

it wants somebody else to build it for them and than take credit as well

for last decades WAPDA has come with several good plans but present govt have struck them down
even PPPP were better than them

the only reason why PMLN performance looks a bit better in term of pure growth(from~4 to 5.5) is huge Chinese push for investment, low international oil prices and international growth, had there been PPPP govt during this era results would have been the same

 

[bafxet]

Could be... security concerns are a critical factor. Pakistan needs to get its act together.... India has allocated $500 million for terror activities against CPEC.

ISI. Pull up your socks, boys, you you have the abilities.

 

[python-000]

Q. Can Pakistan. Build this on its own as envisioned in 9 years or would this become another white elephant?

this is non of your business

 

[newb3e]

Okay before indians were like cpec will destoey pakistan pakistan will pay high interest and has no say in any of the project..now cpec is doomed pakistan is reject projects can pakistan finanace on irs own! Matlab rootay he raho gay itna toh whore nai rooti hoge jitna ya randians rootay hain!!

 

[volatile]

Where is our stupid Media talkers financial analyst so called once you degrade and say bad things just for the sake of small jobs or politicizing every thing ,Chinese have come up with firm sovereign guarantees in case the project is made disputed thru politicizing and some say they wanted Mangla /Tarbela as Collateral

 

[Clutch]

this is non of your business

Why?