US tech firm IBM is joining the project behind Pakistan’s first private hydroelectric power plant. The huge $235 million (£151m) plant is expected to replace around 135,000 tons of imported oil, cut carbon emissions and save Pakistan roughly $100 million (£64m) a year in fuel costs.

The building firm Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) recently finished the New Bong hydroelectric power plant on the Jhelum River in Azad Jammu and Kashmir for its owner Laraib Energy. Generating 84 MW, the plant will provide an estimated 540 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy a year to the national grid.

Deepak Advani, General Manager for Cloud and Smarter Infrastructure at IBM said: “The hydropower project operated by TNB Remaco plays a critical role in adding needed energy resources to Pakistan.” IBM software will automate the plant’s manual systems as well as put all its energy data in one place.