Govt acquires 32,073 acres for Diamer-Basha Dam
The government has so far acquired 32,073 acres of land for the important Diamer-Basha Dam project, which is expected to be completed by April 2029 and would meet the growing water and power needs of the country.
The acquired land is around 90 per cent of the total required 35,924 acres of land for the project.
The official information revealed that the total estimated cost of Diamer-Basha Dam project is Rs14.06 billion, which includes PC-I (acquisition of land and resettlement Rs1.75 billion, PC-I (Dam Part Rs4.79 billion, while the cost for PC-I (power generation facilities yet to be approved) is Rs7.51 billion.
Similarly, the amount spent by the previous governments on the dam is Rs8.6 billion under the acquisition of land and resettlement (AL&R) since 2009/10, while the present government has spent Rs3 billion under AL&R and Rs5 billion under the dam part.
The total amount of Rs1.16 billion has been spent under AL&R and Rs5.1 billion under the dam part.
The information also revealed that the Supreme Court of Pakistan is the custodian of the dam fund. The total amount of the funds collected for the project so far is Rs12,934,008,868 up to July 15, 2021.
Moreover, thanks to the present government, which is giving priority to the completion of mega power projects and had earmarked Rs15.5 billion for the dam part and Rs7 billion for AL&R during the fiscal year 2020/21.
As per the plan for the construction, the consultants for main works have commenced their services from October last year, while the contractor for the main dam works have been mobilized at site after signing of the contract agreement with the commencement date of August 7, 2020.
As per the financing plan, the acquisition of land and resettlement is being financed by the government of Pakistan as Rs1.06 billion has been released against PC-I (AL&R), amounting to Rs1.75 billion.
Similarly, the financing plan for the dam part includes Rs 2.33 billion under the government share, Rs1.44 billion under the commercial financing and Rs1 billion under the Wapda equity.
The financing plan of the power generation facilities includes Rs7.6 billion under the Wapda equity, Rs4.29 billion under the commercial financing and Rs2.46 billion under the integrated water flow model demand calculator (IDC), which would be recovered through tariff.