Dasu hydel project to produce 4320MW power

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Dasu Hydropower Project, a low cost power plant, will contribute 4320 mw of electricity to the national grid and thus benefit the national economy with about Rs 191.7 billion.

This was stated by a five-member team of Consultants of the project in a presentation to the office-bearers of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Saturday.

The team was comprised of IIJIMA Motohiko, Project Manager/Team Leader, Dasu Hydropower Project, Hiroyasu Kitayama, Chief Material Specialist, Nippon Koei Co Ltd, Japan, Toshimitsu Tanaka, Nippon Koei Co Ltd, Japan, Muhammad Munir, Managing Partner Development and Management Consultants (DMC) and Ziaul Hassan, Deputy Project Manager. The team discussed a number of technical issues with LCCI Senior Vice President Kashif Younis Meher.

After hearing the point of view of the visiting team, Kashif said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce is ready to extend every help so that the work on the mega hydropower project of national importance could be started at the earliest.

He urged the consultants to have regular meetings at the LCCI as it has 18,000 members belonging to all sorts of businesses and they would be ready to facilitate the consultants. When the visiting team discussed the issue regarding provision of Flyash (a residue of coal and used in construction of dams), Kashif said that the material could be made available in Pakistan and in this regard the LCCI would be doing the needful.

Dasu hydropower project is sited 7 km upstream of Dasu village on Indus River, 74 km downstream of Diamer Basha Dam and 350 km from Islamabad. The Project is located in district Kohistan of Khyber-Pakthunkhwa.

The government's reliance on thermal generation has contracted the hydel contribution in the total energy mix. The policy of generating more electricity through thermal power plants resulted in expensive generation that widened the gap between the cost of production and sale.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) had awarded contract to a joint venture, Dasu Hydropower Consultants, for preparation of a detailed engineering design and construction supervision of 4,320 megawatts Dasu hydropower project. The joint venture comprises two foreign and three local consulting companies including Nippon Koei of Japan, Dolsar Engineering of Turkey, Development and Management Consultants, National Development Consultants and Pakistan Engineering Services from Pakistan.