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ISLAMABAD: Korea South-East Power Co. Ltd (KOEN), a state-owned company of the Republic of Korea, has approached the prime minister over “unfair” treatment of its $1 billion investment plans in Pakistan, which were stonewalled during the regulatory approval process.
In a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Korean energy firm’s CEO Kim Min Young complained that the company — which operates thermal power stations, pumped-storage power plants, and combined cycle power plants — had been working on two hydropower projects for 10 years but had been blocked at the last stage.
He said KOEN, a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), had been developing two run-of-the-river hydropower projects on the Swat River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2016, for a total generation of 467 megawatts. The 229MW Asrit Kedam project and the 238MW Kalam Asrit project totalled a combined investment of approximately $1bn, and the firm had already spent about $25m on the ground.
“We write to you today with the greatest respect, and with candour, because we no longer know where else to turn,” Kim said.
