Tarbela 4th extension project to be commissioned in February

LAHORE: The long-awaited Tarbela 4th extension hydropower project will be commissioned in February 2018 with its first unit going into operation, while the second unit of the project will come online by the end of April and the third unit by the end of May.

Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) chairman Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain (Retd) expressed these views during his visit to the project on Monday. The Wapda chairman visited various components of the project and reviewed progress of construction work.

As many as 1,410MW low-cost and environment-friendly hydel electricity will be added to the national grid with the phased completion of Tarbela 4th extension hydropower project from February to May 2018, which will help mitigate the power shortages in the country with low-cost hydel electricity, he added.

Expressing satisfaction over the pace of work, Lt Gen Hussain emphasised on the project management, the consultants and the contractors to maintain close liaison to meet the timelines for completion of the project without compromising on the stipulated standards of quality for the construction work.

The 1,410MW Tarbela 4th extension project is a component of least-cost energy generation plan being implemented by Wapda on priority basis to increase the ratio of hydel electricity in the system and to stabilise electricity tariff for the consumers. Under the project, three electric power generating units - each of them having capacity of 470MW - are being installed at tunnel 4 of the Tarbela Dam.

With the completion of the project, generation capacity of the existing Tarbela hydel power station will increase to 4,888MW from the existing 3,478MW.  Tarbela 4th extension hydropower project will provide 3,840 Giga Watt hours (3.84 billion units of electricity) to the national grid annually.