Mohmand Dam contract awarded to CGGC-Descon JV

ISLAMABAD: The final contract for the much-delayed Mohmand Dam project was finally awarded to a joint venture (JV) comprising the China Gezhouba Group of Companies (CGGC), as the lead firm, and Descon, as its partner, the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The contract, worth Rs183.523 billion for the project’s civil and electro-mechanical work, was awarded to the JV thus, saving Rs18 billion from the approved PC-I, the statement said.

The contract agreement signing ceremony was held at Wapda House, wherein the representatives of Wapda and CGGC-Descon JV signed the agreement on behalf of their organisations. Wapda Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Muzammil Hussain, senior officers, project authorities and higher-ups of the CGGC and Descon were also present on the occasion.

Addressing the contract signing ceremony, the Wapda chairman said: “The Mohmand Dam hydropower project will phenomenally contribute towards water, food and energy security of Pakistan.”

The dam is being constructed on River Swat in Mohmand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The project is scheduled to be completed in five years and eight months.On completion, the project will store about 1.2 million acre feet (MAF) of water, generate 800 megawatts (MW) of low-cost hydel electricity and help mitigating floods in Peshawar, Charsadda and Naushera.

Besides supplementing 160,000 acres of existing land, about 16,700 acres of new land will also be irrigated because of the dam. In addition, 300 million gallons of water per day will also be provided to Peshawar for drinking purpose. Annual benefits of the project have been estimated at Rs51.6 billion.