ADB to assist Diamar-Basha Dam project
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Saturday assured Pakistan of financial and technical assistance for the Diamer Bhasha Dam project and said that the process of finalising the modalities would be completed on fast-track basis.
This assurance was given by the ADB Acting Country Head Donneth A Walton during a meeting on Saturday at the ministry under the Chairmanship of Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to review the progress and other related matters of the project.
The meeting was also attended by the ministrys secretary, adviser and additional secretary, WAPDA Chairman Shakeel Durrani, member, Planning Commission member (infrastructure), Bhasha Dam project general manager and other senior officials of the ministry, Kashmir affairs division, WAPDA and ADB.
The ADB delegation informed the meeting that the bank is already in the process of due diligence of the project and all the aspects of this very important hydel power generation project have been included for assistance. The minister while chairing the meeting highlighted the importance of the project in the national development and said it will be a multipurpose project, play a vital role in flood mitigation and open a new era of economic development and prosperity in Pakistan.
Ashraf said that after completion, the dam will generate cheaper electricity of 4,500 megawatts with live storage capacity of 6.4 million acres feet to irrigate thousands of acres. He said that the life of Tarbela dam will extend about 35 years after completion of the Bhasha Dam. He said that Pakistan is facing an energy crisis challenge and taking all possible measures to mitigate it. The minister said that the government is also working on various other hydel power projects to reduce dependence on thermal power and generate cheaper and clean electricity to meet the future electricity needs. He said that the government is very enthusiastic and the people of the area are very keen for early construction of the project. He said that WAPDA has started implementation of the resettlement plan and land acquisition.
Earlier, the WAPDA chairman briefed the meeting about the current status of the dam, allocation of funds by the government during 2009-10, sanctioning of Rs 20 billion for the 2010-11, establishment of land acquisition and resettlement unit in WAPDA, land acquisition in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, upgradation of KKH, three years resettlement plan and other related matters.
