Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif this week performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the World Bank funded 4320MW Dasu hydroelectric project on the Indus River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The major project is being built in two stages, with the first stage including the installation of six units with a total capacity of 2160MW. The second stage, which includes the installation of a further six units, will begin once stage-1 is complete.

Earlier this month, the World Bank announced that its grant and low-interest arm – the International Development Association (IDA) – had approved a financing package for the first stage of the project consisting of of an IDA Credit of $588.4 million and an IDA Partial Credit Guarantee (PCG) of $460 million to help mobilize commercial financing for the project.

The project has been estimated at about $4.2 billion.