21-05-2025
Why China has ramped up construction work on Pakistan's Mohmand dam
Amid India-Pakistan tensions, China is accelerating the pace of work on the Mohmand dam in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to a recent report in the South China Morning Post.
China has funded several infrastructure projects in Pakistan in recent years, including for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor portion of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). On Saturday (May 17), state broadcaster Chinese Central Television (CCTV) reported that concrete filling on the dam had begun, marking 'a critical construction milestone and a phase of accelerated development for this national flagship project of Pakistan'.
The SCMP report noted that the statement followed India's announcement of suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attacks. What is the significance of the Mohmand dam in this context? We explain.
The Mohmand dam is being constructed on the Swat river, which originates from the glaciers of the Hindu Kush mountains. It is a perennial river, flowing through picturesque valleys and mountains, and later joining the Indus.
The project in question is located on the river, about 5 km upstream of the Munda Headworks (a structure that diverts water flow) in the Mohmand Tribal District. It will have a height of 213 metres and a capacity of 1.239 million acre-feet.
According to the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority's website, its main objectives are to mitigate the risk of floods, irrigate agricultural land of 16,737 acres, generate hydropower and improve the socio-economic conditions of the local population. Work on the project began in 2019, with an initial proposed completion date of December 2025.
Once complete, it will generate 2,862 Gigawatt hours of power annually. The SCMP report said it would also supply 300 million gallons of drinking water every day to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
At present, it assumes significance given the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. In this river system, India is the upper riparian state (from where the water flows), while Pakistan is the lower riparian state. Under the 1960 agreement, water from all the Eastern Rivers (Sutlej, Beas and Ravi) was available for the 'unrestricted use' of India, while Pakistan got the Western Rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab).
David Michel, a Senior Fellow of the Global Food and Water Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), detailed the dependency Pakistan has on the Indus River system.
He wrote, 'Over three-quarters of the country's annually available renewable water resources come from outside its borders, almost entirely from the Indus… Major cities such as Karachi and Lahore rely upon the river—or on groundwater aquifers that the Indus helps replenish—for their drinking water… The Indus system waters more than 90 percent of the nation's crops. Similarly, Pakistan generates one-fifth of its electricity from hydropower. Every one of the country's 21 hydroelectric plants is located in the Indus Basin.'
Notably, India cannot immediately stop water from flowing downstream to Pakistan because it lacks the infrastructure to store water within its borders. Building such structures could take at least several years. In the past, Pakistan has objected to some proposed dams and storage projects on the Indian side, claiming they contravened the treaty's provisions. However, India's decision has underlined the vulnerability of Pakistan's water resources.
Beyond the geopolitical aspect, the Indus is known to change its course drastically between dry and wet seasons, contributing to devastating floods. On the other hand, regions such as Sindh have faced droughts in some years. Controlling the water flow can thus help efficiently manage water resources.
And where does China come in?
While China has urged restraint from both parties amid the recent India-Pakistan tensions, it enjoys longstanding military and economic ties with Pakistan. For China, cultivating a deeper relationship with Pakistan matters in the context of countering Indian influence in the region.
Another key China-funded hydro project in Pakistan is the Diamer-Bhasha dam, which is proposed to be constructed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) despite India's objections. 'We have consistently conveyed our protests and shared concerns with both Pakistan and China on all such projects in the Indian territories under Pakistan's illegal occupation,' MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said in 2020.
It faced funding issues early on, with the Imran Khan-led government launching a crowdfunding project in 2018 that eventually failed. A 2020 PTI report said that China then came to the rescue. 'Chinese state-run firm China Power holds 70% and the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), a commercial arm of the Armed Forces of Pakistan, 30% share in the consortium that will build the dam,' it said.
Khan inaugurated the construction in July 2020, saying it would be the 'biggest dam in Pakistan's history'. It was supposed to have a capacity to generate 18,097 GWh annually.
However, the project faced multiple problems after clearing the initial financing hurdle. As recently as March, Dawn reported a sit-in protest by the locals, whose demands included land rehabilitation and free electricity generated by the project.
Another issue for China is that the ambitious CPEC is yet to result in major economic gains, even more than a decade after its launch. Several projects are yet to be completed, or have stopped due to multiple roadblocks, including attacks on Chinese engineers by Baloch militants and the larger political and economic instability in Pakistan. And yet, Pakistan's strategic importance for China ensures its continued support.
Rishika Singh is a Senior sub-editor at the Explained Desk of The Indian Express. She enjoys writing on issues related to international relations, and in particular, likes to follow analyses of news from China. Additionally, she writes on developments related to politics and culture in India.
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