‘Diamer Bhasha Dam to be completed by 2029’

ISLAMABAD – Diamer Bhasha Dam having storage capacity of 8.1 Million Acre Feet (MAF) will generate power of 18,100 Gigawatt hours (GWh) annually after completion by April, 2029, official source told on Sunday.

Being constructed 40 kilometer downstream of Chilas town on River Indus, the installed capacity of Diamer Bhasha Dam will be 4,500 Mega Watt (MW) and live storage capacity of 6.4 MAF. The project is of paramount importance for water, food and energy security of the country.

The total estimated cost of Diamer Basha Dam project is Rs.1406, 122 million which includes PC-I (acquisition of land and resettlement Rs. 175,436 million, PC-I (Dam Part Rs. 479,686 million while cost for PC-I (Power Generation Facilities yet to be approved) is Rs. 751,000 million.

Similarly, the amount spent by previous governments on the Dam is Rs. 86,685 million under acquisition of land and resettlement (ALR) since 2009-10 while present government has spent Rs. Rs. 30273 million under ALR and Rs. 51555 million under dam part.The total amount of Rs. 116,158 million has been spent under ALR and Rs. 51,555 million under dam part.  The source further revealed that present government which is giving priority to completion of mega power projects and had earmarked Rs. 15,500 million for Dam Part and Rs. 7,000 million for ALR during fiscal year 2020-21. The government has so far acquired 32,073 acres of land for important Diamer Basha Dam project would meet growing water and power needs of the country. The acquired land is around 90 percent of total required 35,924 acres of land for the project.

Article source: https://nation.com.pk/24-Jan-2022/diamer-bhasha-dam-to-be-completed-by-2029