PM Imran to visit Diamer-Bhasha dam next week

Imran Khan will review construction activities after work on project kick-started

LAHORE:

Prime Minister Imran Khan is set to visit Diamer-Bhasha dam next week to review construction activities after work on the project kick-started in the wake of swift mobilisation of the contractor to the site.

Diamer-Bhasha dam was marred with delay for decades due to various contributing factors, however, the current government realigned the project while prioritising the water and hydropower sectors in its development strategy.

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 installed power generation capacity of 4,500 megawatt (MW) in the project will contribute more than 18 billion units to the national grid on a yearly basis.

If this electricity was to be generated through expensive thermal resource, the country would have had to spend Rs270 billion at the average generation cost of Rs15 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 and Ghazi Barotha which will increase by another 2.5 billion units.

In addition, the life of Tarbela Dam will also increase by another 35 years. Keeping the benefits in view, Diamer-Bhasha Dam would help stabilise the national economy.