The Dasu dam project

‘Better late than never’ goes the old saying, and nothing could be more true of the Diamer-Bhasha and the Dasu dams, both of which have had a troubled gestation. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif laid the foundation stone for the Dasu Dam on June 25, 2014 but it is going to be at least five years before the country benefits from the 4,230MW of energy it is projected to produce. Had Pakistan been able to resolve its many interprovincial differences and built dams in the last decade, it would not be suffering the power crisis that it is now. Be that as it may, work on these two major projects is now going ahead and it is reasonable to say that once they are both on-stream most of our power woes, at least in terms of power cuts for the common man and our electricity-starved industries, should be over.



The World Bank has finally agreed to provide assistance for the project to the tune of $1billion and it will be completed in two phases — the first five years hence and providing 2,160MW. The Dasu project is part of a ‘least cost’ plan by Wapda aimed at getting the best from our hydropower resources — the cheapest form of energy generation — and broadening the mix in the energy basket. Dams the size of Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha inevitably bring disruption in the course of their building. Entire communities will need to be relocated, many miles of the Karakorum Highway re-sited and rebuilt. Land acquisition and contracting for the Diamer-Bhasha Dam is well under way. This has not been a smooth process, and there are still unresolved issues with residents of the area around compensation and the value of their land.

Overall the project will generate 21.3 billion units of electricity a year and will both augment and relieve the pressure on existing dams such as Tarbela, Ghazi Barotha and Chashma, which are nowadays struggling to meet our needs. There will be further bumps along the road before this major project is completed, but a start has been made. Let us hope that momentum is now maintained and a brighter future for all is achieved.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2014.

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