Daily Times

Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain (Retd) Tuesday visited Tarbela Dam to review on ground the preparedness level for mobilization of the contractor to the site and start of construction work on the project, scheduled to be commenced in July this year.

The contract for civil works of the 1530 MW-Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project (T5) last week has already been awarded to the contractor. During the visit, WAPDA Chairman had a detailed round of Tunnel N0. 5, sites of the Power House and Switch Yard and Intake of the Power House, therein, he was briefed about mobilization of the contractor and time lines for overall implementation of the project.

WAPDA Member (Water) Abdul Zahir Khan Durrani, Member (Power) Jamil Akhtar, Authority’s Advisor Nasir Hanif, project management and representatives of the consultants were also there during the visit”, media wing of WAPDA said in an official statement released to the media Tuesday evening.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chairman said that T5 is yet another landmark project, being constructed by WAPDA under its least-cost energy generation plan to meet increasing demand of energy in the country through indigenous clean and green hydel electricity.

T5 is one of the 10 mega projects WAPDA is implementing to double the existing hydel generation with addition of more than 9000 MW to the National Grid in just eight years from year 2022 to 2028-29 in phased manner.

The addition of this cheap electricity will help stabilize the power tariff by decreasing reliance on import of expensive fuel for thermal power generation, he added.

Underlining the importance of timely completion of the hydro power projects for national economy, WAPDA Chairman directed T5 project management to strictly adhere to the time lines set for completion of the project with no compromise on the stipulated standards of construction work.

It is worth mentioning here that T5 Project is being constructed on Tunnel No. 5 of Tarbela Dam with approved PC-I of US$ 807 million. World Bank is providing US$ 390 million, while Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to the tune of US$ 300 million.

Continuous monetary assistance by the international financial institutions to WAPDA for construction of hydro power projects reflects their trust in WAPDA’s financial strength.

Cumulative generation capacity of T5 Project stands at 1530 MW with three generating units of 510 MW each. The project, scheduled to commence electricity generation by mid-2024, will provide 1.347 billion units of low-cost hydel electricity on the average per annum to the National Grid.

Installed power generation capacity at Tarbela Dam will increase from 4888 MW to 6418 MW on completion of T5 Project, the statement said.