ISLAMABAD: Energy experts and policymakers have called for clear, consistent and execution-focused policies to position Pakistan as a viable destination for Chinese solar manufacturing under the Green CPEC Alliance.
The call was made at a regional conference titled “Asean-to-Pakistan Pathways: Attracting Chinese Investment for Solar PV Value-Chain Manufacturing”, hosted by the Pakistan-China Institute. The event explored how Pakistan can draw lessons from Southeast Asia’s solar boom to anchor domestic manufacturing.
Dr Christoph Nedopil, Director of the Griffith Asia Institute, stressed the need to replicate the conditions that made Asean countries preferred destinations for Chinese solar manufacturers. He highlighted credible investment facilitation, execution readiness, policy stability and risk protection as essential ingredients for competing in the next wave of cleantech investment.
Chairman of the Pakistan-China Institute, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, noted that Pakistan’s solar expansion is increasingly linked to China’s industrial capacity. He cited imports of approximately 17 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels in 2024 and 17.9 GW in FY25, taking cumulative imports beyond 50 GW by September 2025. Pakistan’s share in China’s solar exports has grown from 2% in 2022 to around 12% in 2025.
He said solar contributed nearly 25.3% of Pakistan’s utility electricity between January and April 2025. With global solar installations reaching around 597 GW in 2024 and module prices falling to $0.07–$0.09 per watt, he described the current pricing window as a strategic opportunity. However, he cautioned that production cuts and policy shifts could raise prices by nearly 9%.
Highlighting China’s dominance, he pointed out that the country controls over 80% of global solar manufacturing capacity, backed by more than $50 billion in investment and around 300,000 jobs.
Minister of State for Climate Change Shezra Mansab Ali Kharal termed Pakistan’s solar surge an “import-driven demand shock,” noting that 51.5 GW of modules had been imported from China by November 2025. She said solar deployment is now largely behind-the-meter, with an estimated 27–33 GW installed across segments. Official net-metering capacity reached 6.8 GW by September 2025, up from around 2.2 GW earlier, with over 156,000 prosumer facilities.
She also pointed to emerging “negative daytime demand” in major industrial cities such as Lahore, Faisalabad and Sialkot, increasing pressure for tariff and market reforms. With module prices hovering around $0.08 per watt and customs valuation revised accordingly, import costs had crossed $2 billion by June 2025.
NA Zuberi, Senior Adviser at China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Limited (C-SAIL), emphasised that beyond incentives, investors seek speed, certainty and enforceability. He urged policymakers to define a realistic, investor-ready package capable of converting interest into committed capital and warned against policy overpromises that later falter during implementation.
Dr Marlistya Citraningrum from the Institute for Essential Services Reform highlighted the importance of balancing local content ambitions with investability. She stressed that sequencing reforms and ensuring predictability are critical to avoid deterring foreign manufacturers as domestic capabilities scale.
Lam Pham, Asia Analyst at Ember, explained how Asean countries attracted Chinese manufacturers through tariff-jumping foreign direct investment, trade agreements, supply-chain proximity, fiscal incentives and strong industrial ecosystems supported by reliable logistics, power and water infrastructure.
Additional Secretary and Executive Director General-II at the Board of Investment, Dr Erfa Iqbal, acknowledged execution challenges and stressed the need to remove bottlenecks hindering Special Economic Zones (SEZs) from becoming truly plug-and-play. She underscored the importance of addressing key constraints within six to twelve months to improve delivery certainty and strengthen investor confidence.
Participants concluded that while Pakistan’s solar demand is surging, policy clarity, execution capacity and credible risk protection will determine whether the country can transition from being a major importer to becoming a manufacturing hub under the Green CPEC framework.
Story by Zafar Bhutta
