KARACHI, Pakistan—When Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to office in 2013, rolling power outages across the country were plunging homes and businesses into darkness for up to 12 hours a day. Now the Pakistani leader is betting on a $21 billion Chinese-backed splurge on energy projects to boost the economy—and his re-election bid. More than...
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has secured $21bn of Chinese investment in energy projects, the first major improvement to Pakistan's energy supply in two decades. The 10 Beijing-financed energy projects being built around Pakistan are set to increase the country's energy output by 60% in two years. Sharif is hoping the investments in energy will improve his chances for re-election, according to Minister for Petroleum Shahid Khaquan Abbasi. This assistance by China to fix Pakistan's energy infrastructure could boost Pakistan's GDP growth to 7% annually.