Neelum-Jhelum to be operational in six months

Major cracks in its tailrace tunnel made powerhouse dysfunctional

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira on Monday informed the National Assembly that the fault in 969-megawatt Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Plant Project (NJHPP) would be fixed in six month time period.

The minister was replying on behalf of the minister for Water Resources Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah.

Kaira shared that the project is located in the mountains area of Kashmir where rock sliding is common, adding that cracks emerged from inside the mountains which damaged the main tunnel, subsequently, the powerhouse became dysfunctional.

M/s China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC), the contractor for the construction of Civil Works was engaged for carrying out the remedial works. The contractor immediately started the mobilization at the site and subsequently contract agreement was signed with the firm on August 25, 2022.

As per the instruction of the prime minister, work on restoration is going on day and night.

In his written reply, the minister for water resources told the NA that the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project is a mega project having 68 km of tunnelling system, out of which the length of the water tunnel is 51 km (48 km headrace tunnel and 3.5 km tailrace tunnel).

In the tailrace tunnel at one location from 251m to 293m d/s from the powerhouse, there is a blockage of about 42m in length due to tunnel collapse.

On the prime minister's directive, the MoWR engaged an International level foreign consulting firm for ascertaining the causes of this defect and to advise on the remedial works.

(With Input from APP)