Pakistan is a densely populated country of around 200 million people, of which 51 million have limited access to electricity, while a further 90 million have unreliable power supply – with a nationwide average of 6 hours of load-shedding per day.
Pakistan’s energy access crisis has significantly stunted the country’s economic progress and reflects a severe under-utilisation of its natural resources. In 2017, Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) reported that just 7,320 MW of the country’s 60 GW of hydro power potential has been deployed. Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, where InfraCo Asia’s project will be based, alone boasts 24GW of hydro power potential.
At present, renewable energy derived from hydro power projects in Pakistan can only be attributed to small hydro power developments, with most projects being funded and developed by provincial and federal government initiatives. Private sector participation in the development of small to medium-size hydro power projects has thus far been limited, due to high-risk perceptions of the sector.
Through the Swat KPK Hydro Power Platform, InfraCo Asia draws on its development and financing expertise, as well as its experience in developing hydro power projects in the region, to demonstrate that small to medium-size hydro power projects can be developed at scale in Pakistan, as commercially viable and bankable assets.