Pakistan: China-backed hydropower projects irk locals, environmentalists

The public's growing dissatisfaction has triggered mass protests and destruction of public property time and again. Still, the problem is expected to worsen in the coming years as the mismatch between energy supply and demand in the country is projected to widen.

Prime Minister Imran Khan last week vowed to build the “biggest dam in Pakistan’s history” after he inaugurated the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam in the Gilgit-Baltistan region. He said the project will benefit the people living in the area. “The decision to build this dam was taken 50 years ago. There can be no better site for constructing a dam; it is a natural dam,” the premier said. [Readmore]