Flood-hit Swat power plant to be restored
PHOTO: FILE
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has decided to restore the flood-ravaged power plant in Swat district in order to restore power supply to a large part of the district.
In this regard, Secretary Energy & Power Nisar Ahmad Khan and PEDO Chief Executive Engineer Naeem Khan along with a team of experts paid an emergency visit to Daral Khwar Powerhouse in Swat despite severe cold and heavy snowfall, said a press statement Sunday.
During the briefing, the secretary energy and power was informed that the Daral Khwar power plant under the supervision of PEDO was successfully completed by a team of Chinese and local engineers in 2021.
The project earned Rs1.30 billion annually, but the power plant has been severely damaged due to the recent catastrophic floods.
Nisar Ahmad Khan inspected the spillway, sand trap, power channel, switchyard and other parts of the flood-affected powerhouse thoroughly and issued necessary instructions to the CEO PEDO Naeem Khan regarding the repair of the power house.
He also praised the chief engineer of PEDO and their team who participated in the maintenance and safety works by staying at the project site for one month continuously for the immediate protection of the destroyed power plant.
Later, the secretary energy during a high-level meeting rejected the report issued by the inspection team that reviewed the costs of the damages in Daral Khwar power plant and issued orders to invalidate the inspection team. He said that the said team consisted of non-technical persons who wrongly denied expenditure by misunderstanding certain matters on the basis of ignorance.
He issued instructions to reconstitute the inspection team of the institution.
The secretary also expressed satisfaction over the details of costs incurred for the restoration of the power house in PC-1 by the PEDO engineers and said that the site of the damaged power house has been thoroughly inspected along with the PEDO chief, therefore the details of the expenses have been declared satisfactory.
He directed that PC-1 should be immediately submitted to the planning & development department to start the restoration work on the damaged power plant on an emergency basis after approval so that the production of electricity can be resumed, so very essential for the district people.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2023.