Pakistan's Suki Kinari (SK) Hydropower Station, a key project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), was presented as a model for sustainable energy cooperation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025 that concluded on Monday in Tianjin, China.

The project was featured in a special issue by China's International Business Daily for the summit, which ran under the theme “Promoting the Shanghai Spirit: SCO in Action, " according to Gwadar Pro.

Located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the SK Hydropower Station is a major energy initiative under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The plant began commercial operations in September 2024.

By August 2025, the station had supplied over 2.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to Pakistan's national grid, helping to ease power shortages and support the country's clean energy goals, the report said.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif led Pakistan's delegation to the summit, which gathered leaders and officials from across Eurasia. An official with the Pakistani delegation said the project's inclusion at the summit underscored the country's role in promoting regional connectivity and green development.

Beyond power generation, the project has supported local community and environmental programs, including the planting of more than 150,000 trees, the construction of a trout hatchery, scholarships for local students, and upgrades to road infrastructure like the N15 highway realignment. The project has also provided relief aid to nearby communities during natural disasters.

Analysts noted that the SK project illustrates how large-scale regional investments can align with local development objectives. At the summit, participants stressed that such projects could serve as a model for other SCO member states attempting to balance energy security with environmental sustainability, according to a statement from the organizers.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China