Wapda to divert River Swat at underconstruction Mohmand Dam in April

LAHROE: The WAPDA is all set to divert River Swat at the under-construction Mohmand Dam in the month of April with steady completion of diversion system for the project as per the pre-determined timelines.

Chairman WAPDA Engr Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani (retd) Tuesday visited Mohmand Dam, which is being constructed across River Swat in Mohmand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He made detailed inspection of the construction sites for spillway, diversion tunnels and power house on the site. The Advisor (Projects) WAPDA, Mohmand Dam Project authorities, consultants and contractors were joined him on the occasion.

Later, the Chairman attended a progress review meeting at the site. He was told that the construction work is underway on 12 sites. He was also briefed about the diversion scheme, concreting and slope stabilization of spillway, slope excavation and support works at the power house, excavation at the irrigation tunnels, construction of structures across the irrigation canals and finishing works at the permanent access roads located on both sides of the river.

Emphasizing upon the need for timely completion of Mohmand Dam, the Chairman urged the contractors to expedite the activities relating to quarry development for the Dam. He directed deployment of additional resources for the purpose.

Mohmand Dam is a multipurpose project which will store water for agriculture, control floods, supply water to Peshawar for urban use and generate green, clean and economically affordable hydel electricity. The project is scheduled for completion in 2026. Mohmand Dam will store 1.29 MAF of water to irrigate 18,237 acres of new land in Mohmand and Charsadda and supplement irrigation supplies to 160,000 acres of existing land. The project has an installed power capacity of 800 MW with annual energy generation of 2.86 billion units of electricity. It will also provide 300 million gallons water per day to Peshawar for drinking purpose. Annual benefits of the project are estimated at Rs. 51.6 billion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024