China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC)’s team has reached one more milestone by completing the excavation of the deepest pressure shaft system at Suki Kinari Hydropower Project (SKPP), Mansehra.
The breakthrough of the upper-pressure shafts was successfully achieved on Saturday. A ceremony was held at the site to celebrate the remarkable achievement.
The pressure shaft system consists of six pressure shafts and eight horizontal pressure tunnels. With an elevation difference of about 740 meters, it is the deepest pressure shaft system at any hydropower station in the world. The completion of excavation has laid a solid foundation for steel liner installation which is already in progress at completed sections.
The 884MW SKHPP is developed under the umbrella of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) at River Kunhar (a tributary of River Jhelum) at Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). CGGC 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 construction and more than 70% of the work has been completed. This project will serve for 30 years. Upon completion, the project will produce 3.2 billion KWh electricity for Pakistan each year. The project is expected to be completed later this year.