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Wapda unfolds
water and hydropower projects
LAHORE-The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has
unfolded six water and 10 hydropower ‘priority’ projects for
local and foreign investment under its Vision 2025 to mitigate
water shortage and meet the future power generation
requirements of the country.
This was stated by Chairman, Wapda, Lt Gen Zulfiqar Ali Khan
in his welcome address at the international seminar on Vision
2025 organised by Wapda here Monday. He said that these
projects, costing 6.29 billion dollars, would help generate
2817.4 MW power besides creating water storage facility of
5.04 Million Acre Feet (MAF) which will bring 1,936,200 areas
of land under cultivation in all four provinces of the
country.
He said that the objective of the seminar was to seek
participation of the interested parties including national and
international investors for the fast track and cost effective
implementation of the projects. The seminar aims to share
details and status of projects, of foreign and local
investors, he said.
The Chairman Wapda said that due to sedimentation, Tarbela,
Mangla and Chashma reservoirs have already lost 4.26 million
MAF capacity and this loss would be 5.94 MAF by year 2010
which was almost equivalent to the original storage capacity
of Mangla Dam. He lamented that so far existing reservoirs
could store 17.1 MAF water out of total storage potential of
64.4 MAF which was only 11 per cent of available surface
water. We can cultivate around 22.5 million acre cultivable
land by using the available water resources, he observed. He
added that same was the case of hydropower generation as only
16 per cent of our total capacity could be achieved.
General Zulfiqar Ali Khan said that according to a study, we
may face power shortage of 650 MW by the year 2006. However,
by harnessing the potential to generate 40,000 MW, this
shortage could easily by overcome. He said that during the
last 20 years, the share of hydropower in total generation had
reduced from 60 per cent to 20 per cent.
The water projects are the Gomal Zam Dam in NWFP, Mirani Dam
in Balochistan, raising Mangala Dam, AJK, Greater Thal Canal
(Phase) 1, Punjab,Thar/Rainee Canals Phase 1 and the Mithankot
Barrage/Kachi Canal, Sindh.
The hydropower projects approved are: Jinnah Hydropower
project, Punjab, Malakand-111-Hydropower project, NWFP, Alli
Khwar Hydropower Project, NWPF, Khan Khwar Hydropower Project,
NWFP, Duber Khwar Hyderpower Project, NWPF, Golen Gol
Hydropower project, NWFP, Matiltan Hydropower Project, NWFP,
New Bong Hydropower project, AJK, Neelam-Jhelum Hydropower
project, AJK and Kohala Hydropower project, AJK.
He said that power projects: Jinnah at Indus, Malakand 111 at
Swat, New Bong, Golan Gol in Chitral, Allai Khwar in NWFP,
Khan Khwar in NWFP and Duber Khwar in NWFP will start
generating 650 MW by 2005.
July 24
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