Bids invited for construction of dam

Punjab govt begins land acquisition process for reservoir

RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has invited bids from qualified firms for the construction of the long-pending Daducha Dam.

The provincial government has also started land acquisition process for the water reservoir to be built at a cost of Rs6 billion.

The project would be completed under the supervision of the Punjab irrigation department while the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) would install a filtration plant on the Daducha Dam, worth up to Rs7 billion. Apart from this, the authority would be responsible for laying the water distribution network.

Sources said that the long-pending project has become priority of the incumbent government due to complaints of dwindling water supply in the garrison city. It added that the land acquisition process would be finished by the time the qualifying firm would be awarded the contract for the project.

The entire project is expected to be completed in two-years after which Rawalpindi city and its adjoining areas will be supplied water from it. The construction of the Daducha Dam would put an end to the shortage of water in the densely populated areas of the garrison city.

Currently, Rawalpindi gets its water supply from two reservoirs including  Khanpur and Rawal dams however it is inadequate corresponding to the rise in the city's population.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2020.