The Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Complex is a unique 1,450 MW peak-demand facility in Pakistan that generates electricity entirely from a man-made canal instead of a large water storage dam. It features the world's largest concrete-lined channel—52 km long, 100 m wide, and 9 m deep—with a design flow of 1,600 cubic meters per second. A 225 km double-circuit 500 kV transmission line connects it to the national grid and the military-industrial complex of the Rawalpindi-Havelian-Kamra triangle. The project spans two provinces: the Ghazi barrage in Haripur, KPK (downstream of Tarbela Dam) and the power station in Attock, Punjab on the Indus River. Completed in 2003 at a cost of $2.2 billion, it was financed by WAPDA and a consortium of ADB and World Bank. In my opinion, this project exemplifies both the strengths and weaknesses of public-sector investment in clean energy with heavy sunk costs. On one hand, the public sector was essential to mobilize such a massive, long-gestation infrastructure that private players would rarely risk. The canal-based design avoids the environmental and social costs of a large dam while still delivering reliable peak power. On the other hand, the enormous upfront investment and long payback period raise the question of opportunity cost: should the government have instead allocated those billions toward a mix of renewable sources like solar and wind, which are cheaper per MW, faster to deploy, and have lower sunk costs? Hydro remains vital for grid stability and baseload/peak capacity, but over-reliance on mega-projects can crowd out more flexible, decentralized renewables. The prudent path is a balanced portfolio: continue leveraging existing hydro assets while aggressively scaling up solar, wind, and storage to reduce future sunk-cost risks and accelerate the energy transition.