WB executive directors visit Tarbela Dam

HARIPUR: A delegation of the executive directors of the World Bank, visited the Tarbela Dam here on Tuesday. The delegation had a detailed tour of the Dam’s 4th Extension and the under-construction Tarbela’s 5th Extension Hydropower Project.

WAPDA Chairman Engr Lt-Gen (Retd) Sajjad Ghani accompanied the delegation during the visit. Other officials were present there.

The WAPDA chairman said the World Bank and WAPDA had been partners in progress for more than six decades. “We are confident that the World Bank will continue supporting WAPDA for Pakistan’s progress through the development of hydro resources in the country”, he added.

The delegation was informed that the Tarbela Dam had been phenomenally contributing to economic development and social uplift in Pakistan since its completion in 1974. It has released about 411 million acre-feet (MAF) of stored water from the reservoir for agriculture besides providing and contributing 597,309 million units of low-cost and environment-friendly hydel electricity to the national grid. It was told that Tarbela was the biggest electricity generation facility in Pakistan with an installed capacity of 4888 MW – 51.6 percent of the total hydel capacity of WAPDA.

The installed capacity at Tarbela will increase to 6418 MW after completion of the under-construction Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project.

Tarbela 4th Extension, which started generation in 2018, is dubbed the ‘Flagship Project’ of the World Bank. Since then, it has provided 27,531 million units of electricity to the national grid.

Regarding the Tarbela 5th Extension, the delegation was briefed that construction activities continued on all key sites of the project, while power generation would commence in 2026.

The delegation appreciated WAPDA’s contribution to economic stability and social uplift through ethe efficient implementation of hydro projects including the Tarbela Dam. The delegation was also informed of the progress on the under-construction Dasu Hydropower Project, for which the World Bank was providing financial support to the tune of US$ 1.588 billion.

The project is progressing ahead with construction activities on as many as 13 key sites. The power generation from the project is scheduled for 2026. The Tarbela Hydel Power Station and its 4th Extension were completed with financial support from the World Bank.

In addition, the bank is also providing US$ 390 million for the under-construction Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project.