Wapda chairman orders inquiry into Tarbela project incident

Consultants, contractor and WAPDA team agree neither main dam nor any other major structure face any threat

Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Muhammad Saeed on Tuesday ordered a departmental inquiry into an incident inside the tunnel of the Tarbela Fifth Extension Hydropower Project and directed the immediate implementation of rehabilitation measures to minimise potential delays in the project's completion.

The breach on Monday had prompted the indefinite suspension of construction work on Tarbela Dam and also caused an increased flow of water in the River Indus, with authorities issuing an alert for the areas adjoining the river.

The chairman visited the project a day ago and today to review the situation following the incident. WAPDA Member (Water) Engineer Asim Rauf Khan, other senior WAPDA officials, contractors and consultants were also present.

During the visit, the chairman inspected the under-construction project's intake structure, tunnel, powerhouse and other key construction sites. The consultants, contractor and WAPDA's project management team briefed him on the prevailing situation and the measures taken so far.

WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed (Retd) has ordered a departmental inquiry and immediate remedial measures following a tunnel incident at the 1,530MW Tarbela Fifth Extension Hydropower Project. According to WAPDA, project teams assess that there is currently no threat to the… pic.twitter.com/yR6lTKgwr7

— Pakistan TV (@PakTVGlobal) November 10, 2026

Later, he chaired a meeting at the project office to review the possible causes of the incident and short-, medium- and long-term measures to address the situation.

The meeting finalised immediate measures, implementation of which has already begun. The consultants, contractor and WAPDA team also agreed that neither the main Tarbela Dam nor any other major structure faced any threat.

Consultants, Contractor & WAPDA teams unanimous: No threat to integrity of main Tarbela Dam or any of its critical structures as of now.
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— WAPDA (@wapda_pr) November 10, 2026

The WAPDA chairman directed the consultants to submit a comprehensive report on all aspects of the incident at the earliest. He also instructed the consultants, contractor and WAPDA's project team to immediately implement rehabilitation measures and finalise an emergency response plan to minimise any potential delays in the overall completion of the project.

The Ministry of Water Resources has also sought an initial assessment report from WAPDA, which was submitted today. Federal Minister for Water Resources Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo is also reviewing the incident. The WAPDA chairman personally briefed him on the details.

With an installed generation capacity of 1,530 megawatts, the Tarbela Fifth Extension Hydropower Project is being constructed on Tunnel No. 5 of the Tarbela Dam. The World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are providing financial assistance for the project.

WAPDA had awarded a $354.6 million contract for the project's civil works to China's Power Construction Corporation of China Limited in May 2021. The project had an approved cost of $807 million, with the World Bank providing $390 million and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank contributing $300 million.

Once completed, it is expected to generate an average of 1.347 billion units of electricity annually and increase Tarbela Dam's installed capacity from 4,888MW to 6,418MW.

The project, however, has faced repeated delays, pushing its completion deadline back from the original five-year schedule to September 2027. In September 2024, a project director told a Senate committee that delays had been caused, among other factors, by difficulties in obtaining an NOC from the Indus River System Authority for the closure of Tunnel 5.

The project had also faced a temporary suspension in August 2025 after rising reservoir levels and increased water inflows led to water entering the construction site.