LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit strategically important Diamer Bhasha Dam Project next week to review construction activities, as work on the project has commenced in the wake of swift mobilization of the contractor to the site.
Diamer Bhasha Dam was marred with delay of decades due to various contributing factors. However, the government realigned the project while prioritizing the water and hydropower sectors in its development strategy. Following prompt decision making by the government and an innovative financial plan by WAPDA to arrange funds for construction of the project with meagre burden on the national exchequer, Diamer Bhasha Dam is at last going to see light of the day.
The project has three core objectives namely water storage for agriculture, flood mitigation and hydel power generation. The dam will have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 million acre feet (MAF) to irrigate 1.23 million acres of additional land. The project with installed power generation capacity of 4,500 megawatt (MW) will provide more than 18 billion units per annum to the national grid. If this quantum of electricity is to be generated through expensive thermal source, the national kitty will have to spend Rs 270 billion at the average generation cost of Rs 15 per unit. Construction of Diamer Bhasha Dam will also have a positive impact on the annual energy generation of the existing hydel power stations including Tarbela, Ghazi Barotha etc. that will increase by another 2.5 billion units. In addition, the life of Tarbela Dam, that has been playing a pivotal role for progress of the country since 1974, will also increase by another 35 years. In view of its benefits, Diamer Bhasha Dam Project will go a long way in stabilizing the national economy.
Commencement of Diamer Bhasha Dam has proved a good omen for the locals as Rs 78.5 billion are being spent on various schemes as Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in the project area. Employment opportunities will also be generated during construction as well as completion of the project.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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