WAPDA inks Rs776.3m JV

LAHORE: The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) signed an agreement worth Rs776.3 million to a joint venture for consultancy services for Stage-II of Kurram Tangi Dam Project.

The joint venture is comprised of four firms – one from Turkey and three from Pakistan – with DOLSAR as the lead firm. The contract comprises of consultancy services for detailed engineering design, preparation of updated PC-I, PC-I for land acquisition and resettlement plan, and tender documents of the project.

Duration of the consultancy contract is 22 months. The Asian Development Bank is providing financial assistance for the consultancy services of the Stage-II. The contract signing ceremony was held at WAPDA House on Friday.

Kurram Tangi Dam Chief Engineer and Project Director Muhammad Shafiq Bhettani and International Projects Coordinator of DOLSAR Cem Aker signed the contract on behalf of WAPDA and the joint venture respectively.

The ceremony was also attended by Member (Power) WAPDA Jamil Akhtar, Advisor (Projects) WAPDA, GM (Projects) North, GM (Coordination & Monitoring) Water, GM (Central Contract Cell), GM (Central Design Office) and GM (Hydro Resource Management).

The stage is proposed to be constructed on Kurram River in North Waziristan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about 14kmupstream of Kurram Garhi Headworks and 32km north of Bannu City. The stage will have a gross water storage capacity of 1.2 million acre feet (MAF) and installed power generation capacity of 65 megawatt (MW).

The project will irrigate 38,000 acres of new land in addition to supplementing 278,000 acres of existing land. It is worth mentioning that WAPDA has already been implementing Stage-I of Kurram Tangi Dam Project. The Stage-I will irrigate 16,380 acres of land and generate about 18.4MW of electricity.

Kurram Tangi Dam project will phenomenally contribute towards socio-economic development of the people in North Waziristan.