France pledges €41.5m for Warsak dam

Agreement inked, will help capacity-building

PESHAWAR: France has pledged €41.5 million in an attempt to help Pakistan rehabilitate the 243MW Warsak dam and hydropower plant.

Muhammad Saleem Sethi, secretary of the Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Ambassador of France Martine Dorance and Country Director of the French Agency for Development (AFD) Jacky Amprou signed the Grant Financing Credit Facility Agreement (CFA).

The Warsak dam and hydropower plant was built on the Kabul river in the 1960s. It currently generates up to 1100GWh per year.

Acting as part of the long-term capacity-building programme, the current project is aimed at Warsak’s rehabilitation and will be implemented by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).

On completion, the project seeks to ensure safeguarding the existing capacity of Warsak dam for the next term.

Out of the €41.5 million, €1.5 million has been allocated to hydropower training facilities. The project, being completed at a total estimated cost of  €162 million, is being co-financed by the Germany-based  KfW Development Bank, European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Government of Pakistan.

Read: Key irrigation system to be complete by 2018

France has also been contributing, through AFD, towards helping Pakistan overcome its persistent energy crisis in line with its pledge made at the Tokyo Conference in April 2009.

Additionally, France is also helping the country in its struggle to tackle climate change and promote environment-friendly development.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2015.

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