Pakistan's Balakot hydropower project, a major project undertaken by China Gezhouba Group Company, has completed the river diversion and closure operation on Saturday, thus enabling the project to move into the main phase of dam construction.
Located on the Kunar River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about 220 kilometers from Islamabad, the project is the largest hydropower development program currently under construction in the region.
With a total installed capacity of 300 megawatt, this project will generate around 1.14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, meeting the energy needs of approximately 1.8 million people
The project has already created over 2,000 local jobs, supporting Pakistan's energy, construction, and services sectors.
"Today's river diversion ceremony is a major milestone for the Balakot hydropower project.It is visible transition from early stage preparation to the core construction phase of this Balakot hydropower project. China has always remained a reliable and a time-tested friend of Pakistan. And their role here reflects a partnership that goes beyond the engineering. It is grounded in sustained cooperation and mutual trust," said project director Habibullah Shah.
The hydropower station will provide a stable and affordable power supply to the local area, boosting industrial productivity and promoting the development of local agriculture, manufacturing and service sector. It will contribute to the country's economic development and push forward the country's green and low-carbon transition, he said.
The project's long-term operation will effectively reduce Pakistan's dependence on energy imports and enhance national energy security and economic stability, said Habibullah.
Pakistan's Balakot hydropower project achieves successful river diversion
China continued to make headway in environmental protection throughout 2025, with notable improvements in both air quality and surface water conditions, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
According to the Ministry, the average concentration of PM2.5 in 339 cities at the prefectural level and above stood at 28.0 micrograms per cubic meter, marking a year-on-year decrease of 4.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the average PM10 concentration reached 48 micrograms per cubic meter, down by 2.0 percent compared to the previous year.
Excluding days affected by exceptional sand and dust weather, the average proportion of days with good air quality was 89.3 percent, an increase of 1.9 percentage points from 2024.
In terms of surface water quality, monitoring data showed further improvement nationwide.
Among 3,641 state-monitored surface water sections, 91.4 percent were rated as good quality (Grade I-III), up by 1.0 percentage point year-on-year.
The proportion of sections with inferior quality (below Grade V, the lowest level in China's five-tier water quality rating system) remained stable at 0.6 percent.
Key river basins, including the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Pearl River, Songhua River, Huaihe River, Haihe River, and Liaohe River, as well as rivers in northwestern and southwestern regions and those in east China's provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, recorded good-quality water in 93.0 percent of monitored sections, an improvement of 0.6 percentage points.
The below-Grade V proportion in these basins was 0.4 percent, a slight increase of 0.1 percentage points.
Among 209 key lakes and reservoirs under observation, 78.5 percent attained good water quality, representing a rise of 1.4 percentage points from the previous year. The share of those with inferior water quality dropped by 1.0 percentage points to 3.3 percent.
China reports steady improvement in air, water quality for 2025
