South Asia, including Nepal where recent catastrophic floods have disrupted major construction sites and left workers missing, has emerged as a primary destination for South Korean energy companies seeking overseas hydropower development. Blessed with the steep drops of Himalayan valleys and abundant water flows, the region offers ideal natural conditions for hydroelectric generation. However, as global warming and climate anomalies drastically intensify the frequency of severe floods and natural disasters, experts emphasize that robust, systematic disaster management frameworks are urgently required.
According to industry sources on August 27, Korea South-Power Co. (KOEN)—a subsidiary of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)—has been aggressively expanding its footprint in South Asian hydropower projects. Aside from the Upper Trishuli-1 hydroelectric project in Nepal, which suffered severe flooding and structural damage, KOEN has completed or is currently pursuing three major projects in neighboring Pakistan.
In September 2022, KOEN completed the 102-megawatt (MW) Gulpur Hydropower Plant along the Poonch River, located about 167 kilometers southeast of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Undertaken as a joint venture with DL E&C and Lotte Engineering & Construction, KOEN holds the rights to operate the facility for 30 years, with seven staff members currently stationed on-site. Furthermore, in Pakistan’s northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, KOEN is advancing two additional development initiatives: the Asrit-Kadam (229 MW) and Kalam-Asrit (238 MW) projects, which are currently moving through the licensing and permitting phases with two resident employees dispatched locally.
Korean companies are heavily investing in South Asian hydropower due to its exceptional potential. The region combines the massive hydraulic heads of the Himalayan mountain ranges with rich glacial meltwater, making it exceptionally well-suited for large-scale hydro projects.
The core challenge, however, lies in the frequent natural disasters triggered by global warming and climate volatility across South Asia. According to reports from agencies like the Associated Press, heavy downpours and subsequent floods claimed over a hundred lives in Pakistan over a couple of months, while neighboring India suffered similarly heavy casualties during the peak monsoon season. In particular, fragile mountain terrains face escalating risks from sudden flash floods and overflowing glacial lakes.
As more South Korean enterprises expand into South Asia, specialists point out the critical necessity of establishing comprehensive disaster response systems tailored to extreme weather risks. Professor Choi Myung-ki of the Korea Industrial Safety Association noted, "While glacial outburst floods in the Himalayas used to occur once every 5 to 10 years in the past, they are now happening multiple times a year. If alerts fail to translate immediately into evacuation actions, it inevitably leads to catastrophic loss of life."
Professor Choi emphasized a five-stage integrated response model encompassing "prediction, prevention, monitoring, warning, and evacuation," stressing that comprehensive basin-wide flood control strategies must be prioritized. He advised that authorities must treat hazards such as upstream glacial lakes, valleys, and steep slopes alongside downstream residential areas, roads, bridges, and tourism facilities as a unified watershed ecosystem. This requires drafting detailed flood-risk mapping and conducting long-term disaster impact assessments to preemptively identify high-risk zones before development and operation proceed further.
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