China to build $1.5 billion power line across Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: State Grid of China will help build a 4,000 MW power transmission line in Pakistan in a project valued at $1.5 billion, a statement issued by the PM House said on Friday, the latest in a series of Chinese investments in the country.

The high-capacity transmission line will be the first of its kind in Pakistan and will link Matiari town, near a new power station, to Lahore city, a key link in transmission infrastructure.

An agreement on the project was signed on Thursday in Beijing between Mohammad Younus Dagha, secretary of water and power, and Shu Yinbiao, chairman of State Grid Corporation of China, the statement added.



Construction will begin in January, and should take about 20 months, said a spokesperson for the prime minister's office.

The project is the latest in a series of big Chinese investments, most of which fall under a planned $55 billion worth of projects for a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The corridor is a combination of power and infrastructure projects that link western China to Pakistan's Gwadar.



Other Chinese investment in Pakistan has included the acquisition of a majority stake by Shanghai Electric of the K-Electric power production and distribution company for $1.8 billion.

Last week, a Chinese-led consortium bought a 40 percent stake of the Pakistan Stock Exchange for an estimated $85 million.