CDWP approves Wapda's PC-I for Diamer Basha Dam

Islamabad: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved the Wapda's PC-I, amounting to Rs 116.7 billion of Diamer Basha Dam land acquisition and resettlement plan. Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Salman Farooqui chaired the meeting.

The 272-metre high Diamer-Basha dam will be highest roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam in the world with more than 100-kilometre long reservoirs. Live storage capacity of the reservoir will be 6.4 MAF. The project will generate 4500 MW electricity.

The dam will contribute more than 18,000 giga watt-hours of electricity annually. This will also help the government to cope with increasing demand of water. The project will also be an important step in increasing the ratio of low-cost hydel power in the national grid.

Basha is a project of immense importance and will be the biggest project ever executed in any sector in the country. The pre-qualification process of the contractors has already been initiated and is likely to be completed soon. The construction on the project will commence next year following international competitive bidding (ICB).

It is worth mentioning that the development vis-a-vis construction of Dimaer Bhasha Dam project is a reflection of the commitment of President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf for harnessing the water and power resources in view of the current scenario of the country.