Abstract

The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a large-scale investment initiative aimed at enhancing Pakistan’s energy and infrastructure sectors to facilitate trade with China. Pakistan’s persistent electricity shortage hampers economic growth and daily life, requiring four to eight years of investment to address supply–demand imbalances. Under CPEC’s energy projects, twelve initiatives were completed by 2022, with the intention to provide affordable and efficient electricity. This study examines the projects’ impact on the post-1990 energy crisis using data from the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special initiatives, the International Agency, and Our World in Data. It analyzes the project demographics, installation capacity, cost estimates, and employment generation. Using Critical Infrastructure Theory, the study evaluates the inefficiencies and limited success of these projects. Findings reveal that despite development efforts, load-shedding remains severe, averaging eight to ten hours in urban areas and twelve to sixteen hours in the rural regions. Key challenges include the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, catastrophic 2022 floods due to climate change, and political instability since 2017, and worsening governance issues. Moreover, environmental and debt concerns arise as most projects rely on coal exacerbating hazards in an already vulnerable society. The study analyzes these critical challenges and provides insights into the environmental concerns for sustainable energy development under the CPEC.