China to speed up dam project in Pak amid India's Indus Treaty suspension

China is reportedly fast-tracking the construction of the Mohmand Dam in Pakistan, a key hydropower and water security project, in the wake of rising tensions between India and Pakistan over the Indus Waters Treaty.

Concrete filling on the dam had begun. This is a “critical construction milestone”, which marks an “accelerated development phase” for what Beijing has called a “national flagship project” for Pakistan, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. The dam is being developed by the state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation, which began work on the site in 2019.

China’s announcement to speed up the Mohmand project is seen as a show of solidarity with its long-time ally, Pakistan. The announcement follows India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, in which 26 civilians were killed. Military strikes between India and Pakistan ensued before the two nations reached an understanding of a ceasefire. Tensions between the two neighbours remain high.

What is China-Pakistan’s Mohmand Dam project?

The Mohmand Dam is located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of northwestern Pakistan, across the Swat River in Mohmand district. Designed as a multi-purpose concrete-faced rockfill dam, it will provide flood control, irrigation, drinking water and electricity to the region. It is set to be the fifth-tallest dam of its kind in the world, standing 700 feet high.

Once operational, the dam is expected to generate 800 megawatts of hydropower and supply up to 300 million gallons of water daily to Peshawar, the provincial capital. It is also expected to irrigate thousands of acres of agricultural land and protect downstream areas from seasonal flooding.

What is the status of the dam construction in Pakistan?

A February 2025 report in the Pakistani newspaper Dawn mentions full operations may begin by 2027. Excavation of power and irrigation tunnels, construction of spillways, and work on main and upstream cofferdams are currently ongoing, with multiple phases reported to be ahead of schedule. However, Chinese involvement and the recent regional tensions appear to have injected renewed urgency into the construction timeline.

China is also helping develop the Diamer-Bhasha Dam on the Indus River near Chilas (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & Gilgit-Baltistan) to boost Pakistan’s water storage capacity.