China Three Gorges (CTG) Corp. has spent around $6.42 million on community welfare schemes around the project site of Karot hydropower plant, an official of Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) told Gwadar Pro.
The 720 megawatts facility is the first run-of-river hydropower project being completed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). CTG is sponsoring the $2 billion project as an independent power producer (IPP) under supervision of the PPIB.
The official said that under the community investment plan (CIP) of the project, a 20-bed emergency block has been constructed by Karot Power Co. Ltd. (KPCL) at a cost of Rs20 million in Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital in Kahuta.
Moreover, the company has renovated the Basic Health Unit (BHU) in Hollar village near the project site, together with provision of necessary medical equipments including ultrasound and X-Ray machines, ambulance and facility for delivery. The residential block has also been rehabilitated and furnished to facilitate the medical staff posted at the BHU, the official said.
KPCL is a special purpose vehicle registered in Pakistan for construction of the project by CTG South Asia Investments Ltd., an overseas investments arm of CTG.
Also, KPCL has built a high school for boys and a middle school for girls in the area, which only had two primary schools before. A combined polytechnic institute has been built while land acquisition for separate polytechnic colleges for boys and girls in Hollar area is in progress, the PPIB official said. The company has also built a rest house in Beor area to facilitate the officials visiting the project site, the official added.
The company has completed its CIP schemes on Kotli side of the project site in Azad Jammu and Kashmir while some projects in Hollar area of Rawalpindi district of Punjab province are in progress, he said.
The official said that the mentioned projects are part of the company’s obligations under the agreement. However, KPCL has also carried out several projects for provision of clean drinking water, access roads and sports facilities in the areas around the project site on its own free will under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), he said.
