Mott MacDonald provides technical advisory to Karot hydropower project

The Karot hydropower project is a 720 MW hydropower project located on Jhelum River in Pakistan. The project comes with a estimated $2 billion investment price tag and is part of the wider $48 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative. The project will see the construction of a 95 metre high dam, whose reservoir has a total storage capacity of 164.50 million m3. The project consists of five-project cascades, a bridge across the dam as well as a spillway structure. The project is slated for completion in 2021.

Mott MacDonald provided lenders’ technical, environmental and social advisory services to the development of the project. The work included, among others, environmental and social impact reporting, during the consultation phase of the project.

It was recently announced that the project has achieved financial close, with Mott MacDonald providing lending technical due diligence for the project’s financiers. The firm’s duties were relatively wide ranging, including review of the project’s design, changes to orders and disbursement applications. The firm will now provide supervision during the construction phase of the project in relation to agreements made regarding technical, environmental and social matters.

Brian Minhinick, Mott MacDonald’s project director, says, “We are proud to be supporting this milestone project, continuing our leading role in developing Pakistan’s hydropower resource. Once complete, Karot will play a key role in helping address the shortfall in generation capacity by creating a long-term, sustainable power supply.”