4th Tarbela extension project to add 1410 MW power to national grid

ISLAMABAD: The total generation capacity of the Tarbela Hydropower Station will touch 4,888 megawatt mark with the addition of 1,410 MW as a result of 4th extension project.

Official sources told APP on Sunday that the detailed engineering design, tender documents and PC-1 of the Tarbela 4th Extension Project were in active progress and would be completed by next month and would cost $5.5 million provided by the World Bank.

M/S Mott MacDonald (UK) was hired for the detailed engineering design of the project.

The sources said that the project would take four years after award of the contract.

They said the project would not only generate additional 1410 MW cheap hydel power but also save foreign exchange of $ 900 million spent on import of one million tons of furnace oil annually for equivalent generation of electricity from thermal resources.

The World Bank has also shown interest in financing civil works and generating units of the project during the construction, they said.

The project will also provide a cushion to undertake rehabilitation and up-gradation of the existing Tarbela Power House during the lean period.

It is pertinent to mention that Tarbela’s 4th Extension Project is a part of least-cost energy generation plan, being implemented by WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority) on priority to harness indigenous hydropower resources of the country with a view to improving the ratio of hydel electricity in the national grid.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011