Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Diamer Basha Dam having storage capacity of 8.1 Million Acre Feet (MAF) will generate 18,100 Gigawatt hours (GWh) power annually after completion by April, 2029, official source said.

The installed capacity of Diamer Bhasha Dam will be 4,500 Mega Watt (MW) and live storage capacity of 6.4 MAF. Diamer Basha Dam is being constructed on River Indus – 40 kilometer downstream of Chilas town. The project is of paramount importance for water, food, and energy security of the country.

The total estimated cost of Diamer Basha Dam project is Rs.1406, 122 million which includes PC-I (acquisition of land & resettlement Rs. 175,436 million, PC-I (Dam Part Rs. 479,686 million while cost for PC-I (Power Generation Facilities yet to be approved) is Rs. 751,000 million.

Similarly, the amount spent by previous governments on the Dam is Rs. 86,685 million under acquisition of land & resettlement (AL&R) since 2009-10 while present government has spent Rs. Rs. 30273 million under AL&R and Rs. 51555 million under dam part.

The total amount of Rs. 116,158 million has been spent under AL&R and Rs. 51,555 million under dam part. The source further revealed that present government which is giving priority to completion of mega power projects and had earmarked Rs. 15,500 million for Dam Part and Rs. 7,000 million for AL&R during fiscal year 2020-21.

The government has so far acquired 32,073 acres of land for important Diamer Basha Dam project would meet growing water and power needs of the country. The acquired land is around 90 percent of total required 35,924 acres of land for the project.