World Bank agrees to finance Tarbela’s extension

To loan at least $326m of the total project cost of $796m

ISLAMABAD:

The World Bank has affirmed its financial assistance for the 1,410-megawatt fifth extension of Tarbela hydroelectric power project that will be built on existing infrastructure in order to enhance power generation capacity of the large reservoir to 6,300MW.

Of the total project cost of about $796 million, the Washington-based lender’s exact share has not yet been determined. However, it will be a minimum $326 million including savings of $126 million from the fourth extension programme, say officials.



“Work on the fifth extension will be completed in three and a half years from the date of inception,” said a senior official of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).

The World Bank confirmed its financing support to the Economic Affairs Division in September this year, said Tarbela Dam General Manager Iqbal Masood Siddiqui. However, exact modalities of the funding have to be finalised.

The Economic Affairs Division had approached the bank, seeking assistance to implement the project.



The bank is expected to give $500 million from its relatively expensive financing arm, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The loan could be approved next year, which will facilitate the award of civil works contract.

Of the $500 million, $200 million could be given for the Tarbela fifth extension and the remaining will go to other federal and provincial projects.

The country can also opt for $200 million from Oekb Export Credit Bank of Austria, but the Ministry of Finance has reservations about the cost of loan, which is tied to the supply of turbines by an Austrian manufacturer.



Pakistan has qualified for the IBRD funding after a gap of about three years due to improvement in its foreign currency reserves.

The foreign exchange component will constitute 85% of the project cost. Siddiqui, however, said there was still a financing gap, which would be either bridged by increasing Wapda’s share in financing or by obtaining a loan from other sources.

The Central Development Working Party has cleared the fifth extension project at a cost of $795.8 million and it will now be tabled for approval of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council.

The fifth extension was among half a dozen hydroelectric and nuclear power projects with a cumulative generation capacity of 14,700MW, which would be completed between 2018 and 2023, said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday.



The existing tunnel-5 of Tarbela Dam would be converted into a power tunnel without affecting its capability of water release for irrigation purposes, said Siddiqui while briefing about the fourth extension’s current status and future roadmap.

The GM said three units with a capacity of 470MW each would be constructed on the tunnel-5, which was on the left bank of Indus River.

The installed capacity of the 3,478MW Tarbela hydroelectric power stations will increase to 6,300MW after completion of the ongoing fourth extension and the planned fifth extension.

Work on the fourth extension has been undertaken at tunnel-4 of the dam, which was originally intended for irrigation purposes, but was later taken up for power generation as the country’s electricity demand increased. The World Bank gave $840 million for the fourth extension.



The government has already signed a $51-million Tarbela-IV acceleration plan with a consortium of Sinohydro Group of China and Voith Hydro Germany to complete the task in June 2017 - seven months ahead of schedule.

The purpose of the acceleration plan was to fully take advantage of the peak flow season in 2017, which would help generate $300 million worth of additional electricity, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2015.

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