Khan Khwar project to come on line today

72MW hydropower project completed at a cost of Rs10.7b.

LAHORE:

The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has announced that the 72-megawatt (MW) Khan Khwar hydropower project, completed at a cost of Rs10.73 billion, will be formally inaugurated today (Saturday).

The high-head project will provide 306 million units of low-cost electricity per annum to the national grid with annual benefits estimated at more than Rs2.75 billion.

The project has been constructed on Khan Khwar (Nullah), a right bank tributary of Indus River near Besham town in Shangla district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The main components of the project include a 46-metre high and 112-metre long dam, about 5km long tunnel, a power house and a switchyard.

According to Wapda, the cost includes foreign exchange component of Rs5.049 billion. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) provided a loan of $30.8 million for the project.

Khan Khwar hydropower project is part of least-cost energy generation plan of Wapda being executed on priority in view of the increasing demand of electricity.

Of these, six projects with a combined production capacity of about 400MW will be completed this year. Prominent among the remaining 11 projects are 969MW Neelum Jhelum, 106MW Golen Gol, 4,500MW Diamer Bhasha, 1,410MW Tarbela 4th Extension, 84MW Kurram Tangi, 4,320MW Dasu, 740MW Munda and 7,100MW Bunji.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2012.