Daily Times

LAHORE: A delegation of the National Defence University (NDU’s) National Security and War Course visited WAPDA House on Tuesday.

The delegation, headed by Brigadier Hammad Qadir, was briefed about the water and power sector issues. Water and Power Development Authority Member Badrul Munir Murtiza and other senior officers were also present.

WAPDA’s Adviser on Diamer-Bhasha Dam project Dr Izharul Haq and Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) General Manager (Revenue and Commercial Operation) Muhammad Saleem briefed the delegation about water and power sectors, respectively.

During the presentation, the delegation was told that the WAPDA was working for optimum development of water and hydropower resources in the country. Currently, the WAPDA is constructing six hydropower projects with cumulative generation capacity of 4,792 MW. These projects include 969MW Neelum Jhelum, 1,410MW Tarbela 4th Extension, 106MW Golen Gol, 128MW Keyal Khwar, 2,160-MW Dasu (Stage-I) and 18.9MW Kurram Tangi Dam project.

It was told that three projects having generation capacity of 2,485MW would be completed by 2018. The delegation was also informed about under-construction water sector projects including Kachhi Canal (Phase-I), Nai Gaj Dam, Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD)-I and III, and lining of Muzaffargarh and Taunsa Panjnad link canals.

The delegation was told that seven other projects in water and hydropower sectors are ready for construction.

The delegation was also briefed about annual water flows and storage capacity, per capita availability of water, impact of climate change on water resources, water management challenges, water conservation and hydropower potential of the country.

In another briefing, the delegation was briefed about power sector reforms, electricity crisis and issues relating to power sector. Following the briefings, a question-answer session was also held, wherein the queries about water and power sectors raised by the participants were responded to. Later, the WAPDA member and the NDU delegation head exchanged souvenirs as a memento of the visit.