WB team inspects Tarbela, Dasu hydropower

LAHORE: Martin Raiser, the World Bank Vice President, along with a four-member delegation, conducted an inspection visit to the Tarbela 5th Extension and Dasu Hydropower Project sites on Saturday.

The visit, which was part of the World Bank's ongoing support for Pakistan's energy sector, highlighted the progress of these significant hydropower projects.

Accompanied by the Chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Eng Lt Gen (Retd) Sajjad Ghani, and World Bank Executive Director Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah, Raiser reviewed the construction activities at various components of the under-construction sites.

At the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project, situated on Tunnel No. 5 of the Tarbela Dam, Raiser observed the ongoing work on the powerhouse, tail race culvert, canal, and switch yard. The project management briefed him on the advancements, noting that the extension would add an installed power generation capacity of 1530 MW, increasing the dam's total capacity from 4888 MW to 6418 MW. The Tarbela 5th Extension is expected to commence electricity generation in 2025.

Following this, Raiser visited the 1410 MW-Tarbela 4th Extension Hydel Power Station, which was completed in 2018 with the financial assistance of the World Bank. He learned that since its completion, the 4th Extension has contributed 22.56 billion units of electricity to the National Grid.

In the second leg of his visit, Raiser traveled to the Dasu Hydropower Project, located on the River Indus upstream of Dasu town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He inspected the powerhouse, transformers cavern, and the project colony, receiving updates on the construction progress. The project team informed him that the river diversion system has been operational since early this year, and the excavation of

the right bank bypass tunnel was recently completed.

Work on the main dam's abutments, intake, powerhouse, tailrace tunnel, surge chamber, and transformers cavern is ongoing. The 4320 MW-Dasu Hydropower Project, which will be completed in two stages, is currently in Stage-I with an installed capacity of 2160 MW and an expected annual energy generation of 12 billion units. Stage-I is anticipated to be commissioned in 2026.

The World Bank's financial support for these projects underscores its commitment to assisting Pakistan in enhancing its renewable energy capabilities and meeting its growing electricity demands.