The Export-Import Bank of China has approved a loan worth US$448 million for the construction of Pakistan's Neelum-Jhelum hydropower complex, HydroWorld.com has learned.

The $2 billion project is expected to be commissioned in 2016, although developer Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) wants to expedite construction due to stipulations of the Indus Water Treaty.

Both Pakistan's Neelum-Jhelum plant and India's 330-MW Kishanganga hydropower plant are being built on tributaries to the Neelum River.

According to the Indus Water Treaty, the country that completes its project first will have priority rights to the river's waters.

HydroWorld.com reported in 2008 that WAPDA signed a US$61 million contract with an international consortium for the design and construction supervision of the Neelum-Jhelum project.