Pace of construction work on Dasu Hydropower Project to be accelerated
Sajjad Ghani, the Chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority, has announced plans to intensify the pace of construction on the Dasu Hydropower Project. During his site visit, he emphasized that the primary hindrance to the project’s swift progress is the issue of land acquisition.
During the visit, it was disclosed that the Dasu Hydropower Project, with a total capacity of 4,320 MW, is designed to be executed in two stages. The initial stage, currently under construction and with a capacity of 2,160 MW, is projected to commence electricity generation by 2026.
Additionally, Chairman Ghani also conducted an inspection of the construction activities at key sites of the Diamer Basha Dam Project.
During a visit, he appreciated the efforts of the project management and the support rendered by the district administration and provincial government to resolve this issue. He also had a detailed visit of the starter dam and the under-ground power house of the project.
Project managers informed the Wapda chairman that the river diversion system operated effectively throughout the recent period of high water flow.
Last week, a temporary measure was implemented by opening a left bank flushing tunnel that spans 1.3km. This aims to redirect traffic away from the primary dam site and simplify the process of excavating the dam’s abutment on the left bank. Additionally, excavation work for various components, including the intake, power house, tail race tunnel, surge chamber and transformers cavern, is currently under way.
The Dasu hydropower project, with a total capacity of 4320MW, is being executed in two phases. The first phase, which involves constructing a 2,160MW power generation facility, is currently in progress and is expected to commence electricity production in 2026.
The Wapda chairman directed the project team to complete the river diversion phase-1 by November as per the schedule.
He also visited the Diamer-Basha dam project which is scheduled for completion in 2027-28.
The dam will have a gross water storage of 8.1MAF to irrigate 1.23 million acres of additional land. Installed power generation capacity of the project stands at 4,500MW.