PM Shehbaz Sharif inspects Bhasha Dam construction work

Chilas: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Sunday morning visited the site of the Diamer Bhasha Dam project and inspected the ongoing construction work.

PML-N senior leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Khawaja Asif, and PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb accompanied the prime minister to the Diamir Bhasha dam site.

Chairman WAPDA briefed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on important issues related to ongoing construction work on Diamer Bhasha Dam.

Dam to be completed by 2029

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

The installed capacity of Diamer Bhasha Dam will be 4,500 Mega Watt (MW) and a live storage capacity of 6.4 MAF.

Diamer Bhasha Dam is being constructed on River Indus – 40-kilometer downstream of Chilas town. The project is of paramount importance for the water, food, and energy security of the country.

The total estimated cost of the Diamer Bhasha Dam project is Rs1406,122 million which includes PC-I (acquisition of land & resettlement Rs175,436 million, PC-I (Dam Part Rs479,686 million while the cost for PC-I (Power Generation Facilities yet to be approved) is Rs751,000 million.

Similarly, the amount spent by previous governments on the Dam is Rs86,685 million under acquisition of land & resettlement (AL&R) since 2009-10 while the present government has spent Rs30273 million under AL&R and Rs51555 million on the dam part. The total amount of Rs116,158 million has been spent under AL&R and Rs51,555 million on the dam part.

The source further revealed that the present government is giving priority to the completion of mega power projects and had earmarked Rs15,500 million for Dam Part and Rs7,000 million for AL&R during the fiscal year 2020-21.

The government has so far acquired 32,073 acres of land for the important Diamer Bhasha Dam project that would meet the growing water and power needs of the country.

The acquired land is around 90 percent of the total required 35,924 acres of land for the project.