In a significant development towards completion of the 123-megawatt Allai Khwar hydropower project, Allai River, locally known as Allai Khwar, has been diverted following completion of the dam.
With the diversion of the river, the Allai Khwar hydropower project has entered completion stage and test operation of two power generating units, each having capacity of 61.5 megawatts (MW), is likely to start in the next three months, says a press release issued by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).
Other main components of the project including a 2.3km steel-lined tunnel, the structure of the power house and the switchyard have already been completed.
The environment-friendly hydropower project will generate 560 million units of low-cost electricity per annum, leading to savings of millions of dollars compared to costly thermal energy.
Allai Khwar, one of the three high-head hydropower projects, is being constructed on Allai Khwar, a tributary of Indus River in Battagram district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The project is part of a least-cost energy production plan being pursued on a priority basis in view of increasing demand of electricity in the country. Under the plan, six hydropower projects with a cumulative capacity of about 400MW will be completed this year.
Another high-head hydropower project, Khan Khwar with a capacity of 72 megawatts, has been producing electricity since November 2010.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2012.
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