China to expedite Mohmand Dam construction amid Indian threats to cut Pakistan’s water supply

China has said it was speeding up Mohamand Dam construction in Pakistan to mitigate water security risks after India threatened to cut supplies, according to a Chinese state-owned publication’s report.

India has suspended the World Bank brokered Indus Waters Treaty in the wake Pahalgam incident.

According to the report, the state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation has been working on the Mohmand Hydropower Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan since 2019.

CCTV further reported that the firm has started concrete filling on the dam to complete the project at earliest.

The announcement from China comes as counter-move to Indian threats of suspending water supplies to Pakistan.

The Mohmand dam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is designed to serve as a multi-purpose facility for power generation, flood control, irrigation and water supply.

It will generate an estimated 800MW of hydropower and supply 300 million gallons a day of drinking water to Peshawar, the capital and largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Read more: Govt signs $72mn agreement for Mohmand Dam Power project

China and Pakistan are also stepping up efforts on committed projects focusing on cooperation in industrial development, agriculture and the improvement of people’s livelihoods.

The Diamer-Bhasha Dam and Power Project, nicknamed the “Three Gorges Project” by the Pakistani people, is one of many bilateral cooperation efforts between the two countries.