By Muhammad Luqman
With US $ 3.6 billion investment in two hydro power projects , Pakistan has joined the club of top five countries that have outpaced other countries of the world in attracting private sector investment in infrastructure projects.
According to recently released report of World Bank ,Pakistan was a new entrant to the list of top five countries for private participation in infrastructure. Other countries in the top five are Indonesia, Jordan, Brazil and China.
In Pakistan, the US$1.9 billion investment is for the 870-MW Suki Kinari Hydropower Plant. Suki Kinara is on the Kunhar River in the Mansehra district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is expected to be completed by 2021.
The US$1.7 billion investment is for the 720-MW Karot Hydropower Plant. The Karot project, on the Jhelum River east of Islamabad, is being developed under Pakistan’s Power Policy of 2002. The first units are expected to go on line in 2020.
A section of the report discusses the energy sector, which was “the most dominant sector for H1 [first half] 2017 investment, accounting for three-quarters of global investments.” The report indicates that, by capacity, hydro projects led the way with cumulative capacity of 1.9 GW.
Of all the private participation in the energy sector in the first half of 2017, 85% was in renewables, and 15% of that 83% was hydropower.
East Asia and Pacific received the highest level of PPI investment, overtaking Latin America and Caribbean for the first time and accounting for over one-third of total global investment.
East Asia and Pacific and South Asia accounted for 27 percent and 17 percent of global investment, respectively. While all other regions saw an increase in investment as compared to H1 2016.
Indonesia, Pakistan, and Jordan are amongst the top five highest PPI-investment countries because of a few multibillion-dollar power projects. Indonesia saw investments in US$ 4.2 billion and US$2.2 billion coal fired power plants, Jordan had a US$2.1 billion investment in an oil shale-fired power plant, and Pakistan had investments in two hydropower plants worth US$1.9 billion and US$1.7 billion.
Thirty-three countries received PPI investments in H1 2017, of which 17 countries closed only one project each, and seven countries closed only two each. China (36 projects), India (22 projects),and Brazil (21 projects) were the only countries to receive investment in a larger number of projects.
