Committee formed for construction of Diamer Basha, Mohmand Dams

Dunya News

WAPDA Chairman Lieutenant General (r) Muzammil Hussain will head the Committee

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Caretaker prime minister Justice (r) Nasirul Mulk on Monday said that concrete steps were needed to overcome the impending water crisis.

WAPDA Chairman Lieutenant General (r) Muzammil Hussain informed the prime minister about the issues related to water in the country during a briefing at the PM Office.

Lt Gen (r) Muzammil Hussain said that the construction work on Diamer Basha and Mohmand Dams will be started during the current fiscal year.

The prime minister was informed that Diamer Basha Dam Project had a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 MAF and power generation capacity of 4500 MW. Likewise, Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project will store 1.2 MAF water and generate 800MW electricity.

Justice (r) Nasirul Mulk expressed satisfaction over the measures taken by WAPDA in hydro-power sector and stressed concerted efforts to overcome the impending water crisis.

The 1410MW-Tarbela 5th Extension, the 2160 MW-Stage II of Dasu, the 7100 MW-Bunji and the Stage II of multipurpose Kurram Tangi Dam among the ready-for-construction projects.

The WAPDA Chairman said WAPDA completed four mega projects from August 2017 onwards to irrigate 72,000 acres of virgin land in Dera Bugti, Balochistan and add 2487 MW of hydel electricity to the National Grid.

He said the projects included Phase 1 of Kachhi Canal, Golen Gol, Tarbela 4th Extension and Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project.

The prime minister was apprised that Stage 1 of Kurram Tangi Dam Project would be completed in 2020, while the 2160 MW – Stage 1 of Dasu Hydropower Project was scheduled to start electricity generation by 2023.

Later, interim PM Justice (r) Nasirul Mulk constituted a committee for the construction of Diamer Basha and Mohmand Dams with Wapda Chairman Lt Gen (r) Muzammil Hussain as head.