The Chairman of the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Lt. Gen. Muzammil Hussain (retd.) visited the Diamer Bhasha Dam and the Dasu Hydropower Project to review construction work on the two mega projects.
The Diamer Bhasha Dam is being constructed on the Indus River, downstream the town of Chilas in Gilgit-Baltistan. It will have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 MAF to irrigate 1.23 million acres of additional land. With an installed power generation capacity of 4500 MW, the project will provide more than 18 billion units per annum to the national grid.
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The Dasu Hydropower Project Stage-I is being built across the Indus, upstream Dasu town in the Kohistan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
During his visit, the chairman was briefed that the construction work on eight different sites in the project area is underway.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman Hussain noted that the construction work on the dam is progressing ahead of schedule despite the adverse effects that the pandemic has had all across the world. He added that even though the work is progressing at a satisfactory pace, the project authorities need to ensure even in the future that the major construction milestones are achieved within the set timelines.
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He also inaugurated the newly-constructed cableway bridge across the Indus. Three more such bridges are scheduled to be completed in April and May for swift mobilization on both the banks of the river during the high flow season.
The chairman was apprised during a briefing on the progress of the Dasu Hydropower Project that the construction work on nine different sites is in progress, and that the river diversion works are expected to be completed by the end of this year.
The 4320 MW-Dasu Hydropower Project will be completed in two stages. The WAPDA is currently working on the 2160 MW-Stage-I that is likely to be completed in 2025, and will provide 12 billion green and low-cost electricity to the national grid annually. Stage-II will contribute another nine billion units to the system per annum.
