Ag APP
CHILAS: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday inaugurated construction work on the 4,500 MW Diamer-Bhasha dam, which he promised would generate cheap and green electricity for the country and hailed it as a vehicle that would “change the fate” of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Addressing a public gathering in Chilas after visiting the site of the dam, the Prime Minister said the dam will be the third largest dam of the country, Radio Pakistan reported.
Khan said the project was envisaged 40 years ago, “but work on the project is being started today”. In 2018, then chief justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar launched a funds-collection drive for the project, which gathered about Rs 12 billion in donations as of March this year. “We will neither have to import fuel for this project nor will it affect our climate,” the Prime Minister said at the gathering in Chilas. “It will not add to the global warming problems of the country.”
The Premier said in the 1990s, a decision was made to generate electricity through imported fuel, which led to the current account deficit. “Pakistan has a huge potential for hydel power, which needs to be tapped,” he said, adding the government would also launch other hydel power projects.
The Prime Minister said the dam will change the fate of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan by creating employment opportunities for them. The tourism sector in the region will see a boost with the implementation of the project, he added.
Earlier, the Prime Minister was briefed on Diamer-Bhasha dam project. Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Inter-Services Intelligence Director General Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed were also present.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa said that the Diamer-Bhasha project would create 16,000 jobs. In a tweet, he termed the inauguration of construction work on the project by the Prime Minister Imran Khan a “milestone”, saying it would produce 4,500 MW of cheap and clean hydel power.
He added that the project would have the capacity to store 6.4 million acre feet of water that could provide water to 1.2 million acres of agricultural land in the country. Asim Bajwa said during the construction of dam, a number of allied industries, including steel and cement, will also get a boost.
Meanwhile talking to APP, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Anjum Nisar said with the construction of hydel power projects, economic growth would witness an upward trajectory.
“For the last many decades, we had been facing energy shortage issues. That has almost been stabilised now, however, tariffs of energy being provided to the industry is still high, making them uncompetitive in the regional as well global market,” he said. “Diamer-Bhasha Dam will help produce clean and cheap electricity that will also reduce cost of doing business besides making our items competitive across the globe.”