Diamer Bhasha Dam: Russia wants to take up project without bidding

Deal may be finalised during Putin’s visit next month.


Zafar Bhutta September 11, 2012
Diamer Bhasha Dam: Russia wants to take up project without bidding

ISLAMABAD:


Russia is seeking direct award of a construction contract for the $13 billion Diamer Bhasha Dam in a government-to-government deal without resorting to international competitive bidding, sources say.


Faced with water and power shortages, Pakistan is looking for funds from China and Russia, who in turn want a government-to-government deal without international bidding.

The government’s search for funds came after multilateral donors asked Pakistan to get a no-objection certificate from India for the dam’s construction.

China and Russia want a similar arrangement for undertaking the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, which has faced fierce opposition from the United States.

According to sources, Pakistan and Russia are likely to strike a final deal on the dam during visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Islamabad next month.

“A meeting of Pak-Russia inter-ministerial commission will be held before the visit of Russian president, which will work out a mechanism for financing mega projects,” a government official said.

In a meeting of the Inter-governmental Commission (IGC) held here on Monday, government officials gave a detailed briefing to the Russian team on planned energy projects. However, sources said, Russia made no firm commitment to the dam.

According to the official, it was just a preparatory meeting to discuss different projects, which could be tabled during deliberations with the Russian president.

In the IGC meeting, the Russian side was told that Bhasha Dam was a strategic project with power generation capacity of 4,500 megawatts to overcome the energy crisis. It will have water storage capacity of 8.5 million acre feet to feed the agricultural sector.

Chinese offer

The Chinese government has already offered Pakistan skilled labour for the construction of Bhasha Dam. China has 17,000 skilled workers, who have worked on the giant Three Gorges Dam, which is producing 30,000 megawatts of electricity.

On the other hand, multilateral donors have asked Pakistan to seek a no-objection certificate from India to pave the way for financing the dam, which they say is situated in a disputed territory. Instead, they have offered to finance another project – Dasu hydropower, but the government has rejected the plan and wants to complete Bhasha Dam first.

On Monday, a delegation of the World Bank, headed by Country Director Rachid Benmessaud, called on Federal Water and Power Minister Ahmed Mukhtar and once again offered to finance phase-I of the Dasu project.

Dasu hydropower project is situated 7 km upstream of Dasu village on Indus River and 350 km from Islamabad. The project is located in Kohistan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2012.

COMMENTS (41)

Nawab | 12 years ago | Reply If the Russians and Chinese require that they will build and finance the project on a state to state agreement basis, then Pakistan should agree in principle, and appoint an independent engineer to monitor the project. ,
Observer | 12 years ago | Reply

@Observer:

"@murtaza hasan: “. then y this condition is only for pak???? why india is building dams in IHK……….thats hypocrisy” According to Indian constitution, J&K is part of India. That is the case for Pakistan. Also, India can fund these projects by itself while Pakistan can’t. "

I meant to say "that is not the case for Pakistan".

Also, is Azad Kashmir/GB free or not? If they are indeed "free" and not part of Pakistan as per its constitution and official position, how can international investors give Pakistan the money for dams or other projects in these areas that are not officially part of Pakistan?

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