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ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP):Chairman Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed (Retd) on Friday visited Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project, being constructed across River Swat in Mohmand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and reviewed construction progress.
The Chairman was accompanied by Member (Finance) Naveed Asghar Chaudhry, Member (Water) Syed Ali Akhtar Shah and Member (Power) Muhammad Arfan Miana, said a press release.
GM/PD Mohmand Dam Engr Asim Rauf Khan and representatives of the consultants and contractors were also present on the occasion.
During the visit, the Chairman reviewed in detail the construction progress on various work fronts, which included spillway, powerhouse, main dam, diversion tunnels inlet, upstream coffer dam and power tunnel.
The Chairman was briefed about the site-wise progress, timelines and completion schedule of the remaining works. He was apprised that construction activities on more than a dozen sites are continuing side by side.
River diversion system of the project successfully passed the recent flood peaks in River Swat during the current high-flow season. Filling of main dam has also started in May this year following excavation of the right and left abutments and dam pit.
After completion of the main dam, electricity generation from the project is scheduled in December 2027.
After the site visit, the Chairman presided over a meeting at the project office. Underlining the importance of project’s on time completion, the Chairman urged upon the contractors to expedite construction activities by deploying additional resources.
He directed the project team, the consultants and the contractors in particular, to finalize an accelerated plan to complete the project as per the timelines.
The Chairman also asked the contractor to speed up quarry development and filling of the main dam.
It is important to note that Mohmand Dam is the 5th tallest concrete-face-rock-fill dam in the world. Being a multipurpose project, it will store 1.29 MAF water to irrigate 18,237 acres of new land in Mohmand and Charsadda districts besides supplementing irrigation supplies to 160,000 acres of existing land. Mohmand Dam will also significantly contribute in controlling flood damages in downstream areas including Charsadda, Peshawar and Nowshera. With an installed capacity of 800 MW, Mohmand Dam will produce 2.86 billion units of clean, green and affordable electricity every year. It will also provide 300 million gallons water per day to Peshawar for urban use.