PM opens K-P hydropower project
Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf inaugurated on Saturday the Khan Khwar hydropower project in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bisham district.
In his address at the ceremony, the premier said that upon its completion the project would add 72MW to the national grid.
“(Power) generation through hydropower projects is our main focus in order to produce low-cost, environment-friendly electricity,” he added.
Talking about the government’s course of action to resolve the energy crisis, PM Ashraf said all hydropower projects, including Neelum, Jehlum, Dober, Kohal and Dasu, will be initiated soon while work on the Thar coal project had already started.
The premier was also given a detailed briefing on the project by the project’s head. He was informed that the Khan Khwar project, part of the Water and Power Development Authority’s (Wapda) energy generation plan, had been constructed at the Indus River’s right bank rivulet in the Shangla district. It had been completed at a cost of Rs11 billion, with the Islamic Development Bank contributing Rs5 billion as financial assistance.
The Khan Khwar project consists of a 46-metre high and 112-metre wide dam, a five-kilometre tunnel, a power house and a switchyard. It has been connected to the national grid via a 220/132kV transmission line.
Responding to demands presented by Wapda Chairman Shakil Durrani, Prime Minister Ashraf sanctioned a grid station, cadet college and passport office at Bisham and announced an extra month’s salary for the authority’s employees working on the project.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2012.
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@just_someone: Could not agree anymore.
@FP: Its difficult to say who initiated the project. Hydropower project take at least a decade from identification from the site to actual results in terms of power and mostly in a country like pakistani they take decades from even initial feasibility reports. A lot of projects currently being undertaken were first identified by WAPDA engineers in the 70s. Mush's govt went ahead with a lot of old project recommendations and started the process of initial review and engineering design, checking of these designs, offering of tenders of all kinds, etc. I think most of the physical construction was done under this regime.
Here is the main issue of why successive governments have not undertaken long-term beneficial projects. We care about who did it rather than it was done. All pakistani politicnas care about what they can do that will finish in a couple of years so they can inaugurate it rather than what projects, however long they take, should be undertaken for the betterment of the country.
To this government's credit, a lot of projects have been initiated by this Govt that are in feasibility/engineering/design phase but which will be completed in a decade so they kinda deserve some credit for this (Im not a fan of this Govt at all, actually I hate all politicians but I am an ardent supporter of democracy and letting democracy develop and mould itself).
@FP:
agree 100%. thank you. i was gonna write that i was pretty sure that president musharrafs government initiated this project as the name sounded very familiar. the PPP has not initiated nearly as many projects as musharraf did, and they blame the dictator for the electricity 'shortage', which in fact is merely corruption and mismanagement.
The resources of the rest of Pakistan are being used for development of only one province. why? are the rest of the provinces colonies? why isn't anything being done to address these feelings?
How come PPP is taking credit for this project when project was started way back in 2003 during previous Govt. and is in commercial production since 2010. PPP should only take credit for project started by them.
Pl. refer following link.
http://www.wapda.gov.pk/htmls/khankpj.html
KHAN KHWAR HYDROPOWER PROJECT Location
The Project is located on Khan Khwar River, a tributary of Indus River near Besham District Shangla in N.W.F.P. at a distance of 245 Km from Islamabad. Scope of Work
Reservoir Dam structure Power intake Headrace Tunnel Surge Tank Pressure Shaft/Tunnel Power House (72 MW) Tailrace & Switchyard. Objectives / Benefits To provide cheaper power to the National Grid Date of Commencement Original (as per Contract) June 2003
Date of Completion Original (as per Contract) Revised / Expected Oct 2007 Oct 2008 / Feb 2011
Project Cost (Rs. Million) As per PC-I (R) Local FEC Total 2718.607 2644.098 5362.705 Salient Features Design Discharge 35 m3/s Gross Head 252 m Headrace Tunnel 4.557 km Installed Capacity 72 MW Energy per annum 306 GWh Present Status / Progress
Construction of dam structure headrace Tunnel surge tank pressure shaft / tunnel powerhouse tailrace & switchyard in progress. Designing manufacturing & installation of E&M equipment in progress. - The power house is in commercial operation since Nov 2010. - The Power house has supplied 207.389 M kWh to the national grid upto 31st Jan 2012. Incharge of the Project Project Director Khan Khawar Hydropower Project WAPDA Besham Contact No. 092-996-401023 Updated as on 14.03.2012
KPK will become rich on water flow frm Gilgit-Baltistan ...
Finally some good news out of pakistan rather then the normal intolerance, corruption and bombings
@PowerCrisis: Are you joking??? This is a national project made with tax payers money throughout Pakistan for people throughout Pakistan.
Don't play the provincial card!
If anything , KPK should get less given that they have a continuing habit of paying the least amount of bills compared to other provinces.
ANP is doing the right thing - generating electricity is need of the day. Power generation is the real strength of Pakhtunkhwa. If all hydro power projects complete, Pakhtunkhwa would become the richest province.