Mangla refurbishment project on track

Four units refurbished; two more to come online this year

LAHORE:

Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman Lt Gen (Retd) Muhammad Saeed, during his visit to Mangla Hydel Power Station, was briefed that the refurbishment project was progressing ahead at a steady pace.

Four power generating units have already been refurbished and are in operation with their enhanced generation capacity; another two will also come online by the end of this year, while overall completion of the project is scheduled for 2030.

The chairman visited the control room, the generating units being refurbished in the turbine hall, and the intake structure to review progress. He urged contractors to expedite work for completion of the project without delay to achieve energy security by reducing reliance on expensive yet eco-harmful thermal generation.

Wapda is implementing the Mangla Refurbishment Project with an approved PC-I cost of Rs52.224 billion. USAID has provided $170 million as a grant; AFD is providing €90 million in loan; while the balance is being arranged by Wapda from its own resources and through loans.

The refurbishment project is unique in the sense that it is being implemented without shutting down the entire power station. Instead, it has been divided into several packages. Refurbishment work is being carried out by closing down one tunnel, ie, two generating units at a time, to avoid energy loss.

On completion, the project will enhance Mangla Hydel Power Station's installed capacity to 1,310 megawatts from 1,000MW. Annual energy generation will increase from five billion units to 6.632 billion units. Wapda has devised a two-pronged strategy for optimal utilisation of hydropower resources. It has not only initiated new hydropower projects but is also rehabilitating and upgrading its existing hydel power stations to maximise the ratio of clean, green and affordable hydel electricity in the national grid.

The Mangla Refurbishment Project is one of the components of this strategy. The Mangla station has 10 units with a generation capacity of 100MW each.