China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Ltd. (CSAIL) on Thursday held a public ‘Open Day’ event at 720 megawatts Karot hydropower project.
The participants included media persons, government officials, local community members, teachers and students of the local schools as well as representatives of THQ Hospital, Kahuta.
Karot, the first hydropower project under the framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), achieved full operation on June 29, 2022. After nearly five months of smooth operation, the first public ‘Open Day’ was held, which welcomed the first group of visitors to the project.
The event invited visitors to see the spillway, dam, power plant and other facilities and interact with professionals of the project to understand its benefits in providing clean energy, protecting the ecological environment, integrating into the local community and fulfilling social responsibilities.
During the event, CSAIL issued appointment letters to local employees. In addition, school bags and stationery items were donated to the students. The students drew ‘Karot in my mind’ on the graffiti wall with paint brushes to express their interest in the project.
CTG has built more than 20 public welfare projects for local communities, including schools, hospitals and roads; carried out biodiversity conservation, and directly or indirectly provided more than 4,500 local jobs every year during the construction of the project, a post-event statement issued by CSAIL said.
Qin Guobin, Vice GM of CTGI and Chairman of CSAIL, attended the event and addressed the participants.
With annual capacity of 3.2 billion units, Karot HPP will save 1.4 million tons of coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3.5 million tons each year. It can meet the electricity needs of 5 million people and play an important role in alleviating power shortage in Pakistan, promoting sustainable development of the local economy while contributing to the global goal of ‘carbon neutrality’. CTG will continue to implement the goals of CPEC energy cooperation and make positive contributions to the building of a community with a shared future, the statement said.
