Korea Water Resources Corp., or K-water, said it will soon complete the construction of a water plant in Pakistan, K-water’s first investment project overseas.

The state-run water resources developer said the completion of the Patrind Hydroelectric Power Plant will occur within this month. The company is simultaneously operating water projects in 11 countries including the Philippines.

The hydro power plant in Pakistan broke ground in 2009 with an aim of producing 641 gigawatt hours of electricity, which can be consumed by 90,000 people at the same time. The size of the plant is about 75 percent of Korea’s largest Soyanggang Dam’s capacity. The company said the plant will be a great help to Pakistan, which chronically suffers from power shortages. 

K-water has more than 50 years of expertise in water management and resources development.

Since embarking on an overseas project in 1994, it has either completed or is operating 81 global projects in 30 countries to date.

K-water’s 13 global projects, currently underway in 11 countries need a total of 2.3 trillion won ($2 billion) of spending, according to the company.

In the initial stage of the global projects, the focus was more on official development assistance.

However, the company is now expanding to investment projects, officials said.

The global water market is expected to grow to 1,000 trillion won in 2020 from 800 trillion won in 2016, according to data from K-water. Among them, 78 percent will be involved in integrated water supply and sewage, the company said.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)