Pakistan’s Express Tribune quoted Water and Power Development Authority Chairman Muzammil Hussain as saying on November 15, 2017, that the exclusion of the Diamer-Bhasha dam from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework, a key element to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, was because China’s hyper strict conditions for funding the project were “not doable and against our interests”. He said 'the harsh conditions' included China taking ownership of the project, the operation and maintenance costs and pledging to build another operational dam. He clarified that the 4500 MW project will, however, go ahead, as Pakistan has decided to finance the project. Only a few days earlier Nepal had called off a US$2.5 billion hydropower plant awarded to a Chinese state-owned company, which was also part of the Belt and Road Initiative. China and Pakistan are due to hold a meeting about the CPEC on November 21 where they will discuss about 15 thermo energy projects valued at US$2.2 billion. Sun Shihai, a specialist on China’s relations with South Asia at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said “Hydropower projects are particularly complicated and sensitive. ” Factors such as the environmental impact, resident relocation, the competing interests of upstream and downstream regions – particularly for international rivers – can seriously affect a project. He highlighted the example of the Myitsone dam project involving a Chinese firm in Myanmar. He added that in the case of the Diamer-Bhasha dam, which is on the Indus River in the region of Gilgit-Baltistan, and borders the Pakistan-occupied part of the disputed territory of Kashmir, India’s objections contributed to the difficulty Pakistan had difficulty raising money from international institutions. “India has strongly opposed the CPEC because it includes projects in the disputed region. So there are many more factors China should take into consideration.”
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