After a six-month hiatus, development work on the Dasu Dam project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been formally resumed.
China’s Global Times made the announcement, and Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acknowledged “the Dasu hydropower project had resumed” at a routine press briefing.
The announcement comes just days after Pakistan’s government stated that it will pay victims of a terror attack on the site in July that killed ten Chinese people.
Read more: Chinese officials join probe into Dasu bus blast
In response to a question, the diplomat denied reports in the media that the Chinese contractor had left the Dasu dam site. He claimed he was unaware of any new requirements imposed by the contractor for the contractor to resume construction on the dam site. “I’m not familiar with the situation you’ve brought up. The Dasu hydroelectric project, as far as I know, has resumed,” he stated.
Despite the pandemic’s difficulties, Zhao stated that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is moving on. He debunked all CPEC-related skirmishes, adding that the claim that no bilateral initiative has been approved in the last three and a half years is “absolute falsehood.”
He also noted ongoing talks in Pakistan regarding a localized railway project, saying that there is a lot of money at risk and that the proposal is now being discussed among the key parties.
China Gezhouba Group Co., Ltd. is developing the 4,320MW Dasu Hydropower Project. It is one of the country’s most important power generation projects, helping to generate clean electricity and entering a new era of socioeconomic potential and development in rural areas.
The Dasu hydropower plant would provide electricity to about four million Pakistani households after it is completed in 2026.
