Construction of Suki Kinari project in full swing

China Gezhouba Group of Companies (CGGC)’s team reached one more milestone on Tuesday with another headrace tunnel section breakthrough with each other at Suki Kinari Hydropower Project (SKHPP), Mansehra.

According to an official of the project, the 4.5-kilometer-long section was the toughest and the most difficult part of the entire headrace tunnel due to high water doorway, high overburden and several fault zones. “However, the hard work and dedication of the Chinese and their Pakistani coworkers made it possible,” he said.

The total length of the headrace tunnel is over 23 kilometers which has already been completed. Currently, the concrete lining is in progress between breakthrough sections of the headrace tunnel. “The work on the concrete lining is going with fast speed,” the official said. Earlier this month, the rotor of the first unit was successfully hoisted at SKHPP.

The 884MW SKHPP is developed under the umbrella of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) at River Kunhar (a tributary of River Jhelum) at Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). CGGC Ltd is the sponsor of the project which is being executed by Suki Kinari Hydro (Pvt) Ltd.

The total investment of the project is $1.96 billion. The project has created more than 4,000 jobs during the construction while more than 70% of the work is completed. Upon completion the project will each year produce 3.2 billion kwh for Pakistan.  The project is expected to be completed later this year.