ISLAMABAD: Government has so far acquired 32,073 acres of land for multi-billion Diamer Bhasha Dam project, a water reservoir and hydo-power project. The project is expected to be completed by April, 2029 and would meet the growing water and power needs of the country.
Around 90 per cent of the total required 35,924 acres of land has be acquired till now.
Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a concrete-filled gravity dam, in the preliminary stages of construction, on the River Indus between Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Diamer district in Gilgit Baltistan. Its foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1998. The dam site is situated near a place called “Bhasha”, hence the name which is 40Km downstream of Chilas town and 315Km from Tarbela Dam. The eight million acre feet (MAF) reservoir with 272-metre height will be the tallest roller compact concrete (RCC) dam in the world.
Upon completion, Diamer-Bhasha dam would (i) produce 4800 megawatts of electricity through hydro-power generation; (ii) store an extra 10.5 cubic kilometres (8,500,000 acre⋅ft) of water for Pakistan that would be used for irrigation and drinking; (iii) extend the life of Tarbela Dam located downstream by 35 years; and (iv) control flood damage by the River Indus downstream during high floods.
It is planned to have a height of 272 meters spillway with fourteen gates each 11.5 m × 16.24 m. The gross capacity of the reservoir will be 10 cubic kilometres (8,100,000 acre⋅ft), with a live storage of 7.9 cubic kilometres (6,400,000 acre⋅ft). Two underground powerhouses are being proposed, one on each side of the main dam having six turbines on each side with a total installed capacity of 4500 MW.
On 13 May 2020, the Pakistani government signed a Rs.442 billion contract with a joint venture of China Power and Frontier Works Organization (FWO) for the construction of the dam. The eight million acre feet (MAF) reservoir with 272-metre height will be the tallest roller compact concrete (RCC) dam in the world.
The official information revealed that total estimated cost of Diamer Basha Dam project is Rs 1406, 122 million which includes PC-I (acquisition of land and 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 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.
As per plan for construction, the Consultants for main works have commenced their services from October last year while Contractor for Main Dam works have been mobilized at site after signing of Contract Agreement with commencement date as August 07, 2020.
As per financing plan, the Acquisition of Land & Resettlement is being financed by government of Pakistan as Rs 106,897 million has been released against PC-I (AL&R) amounting to Rs 175,436 million.
Similarly, financing plan for Dam part includes Rs. 233,686 million under government share, Rs 144,000 million under commercial financing and Rs 100,000 million under WAPDA equity.
The financing plan of power generation facilities includes Rs 76,000 million under WAPDA Equity, Rs 429,000 million under Commercial Financing and Rs 246,000 under Integrated Water Flow Model Demand Calculator (IDC) which shall be recovered through tariff.
Read more: Auditors raise questions over transparency in awarding Rs. 442 billion Diamer Basha Dam contract…
