40 MAF additional water to be stored in Akhori, Munda, Kalabagh dams

[Muhammad Omar]

Some 40 million acres feet (MAF) additional water can be stored every year if more water reservoirs including Akhori, Munda and Kalabagh dams are built up-stream in the country.

Official sources told APP that every year some 29 MAF water flown downstream due to non-availability of water storage in the country results in billion of rupees loss to the national economy. They said around 40 MAF could be stored in the proposed Kalabagh, Akhori and others dams but unfortunately consensus among the provinces could not build on these dams so far. Giving the details, the sources said the Akhori Dam could be built within five years and it would have water storage capacity of 7.1 MAF.

They said that feasibility of the Akhori Dam had carried out in 2006 and work on detailed design and preparation of PC-1 for land acquisition could not start due to non-achieving consensus among the provinces through Council of Common Interest (CCI). The sources said the reservation of Balochistan had already been addressed, however, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh governments were not even ready to take presentation for the last seven years, they said.

They said 100 per cent land had already been acquired for a mega multi-purpose project Diamer Bhasha Dam and it would not only store some 8.1 MAF water but also generate 4500 MW cheap hydel electricity. The dam would also help enhance the life of Tarbela Dam for at-least 50 years more, they said. Similarly, they said Munda (Mohmond) Dam was also of utmost importance. The dam would not only help mitigate flooding during monsoon season but also generate 840 MW cheap hydel electricity.