Wapda signs consultancy agreement for Mohmand Dam project

LAHORE: Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) signed a contract agreement worth Rs9.98 billion with Joint Venture namely Mohmand Dam Consultants Group (MDCG) for consultancy services for construction design, construction supervision and contract management of Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project.

The joint venture, led by Nespak, comprises six partners and seven sub-consultants (four foreign and nine local firms). The agreement was signed in a ceremony held at Mega Hydel Complex the other day. General Manager and Project Director Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project Muhammad Javed Afridi and MDCG authorised representative Dr Tahir Mehmood Hayat signed the agreement on behalf of Wapda and the joint venture respectively. Water Resources Federal Minister Muhammad Faisal Vawda, Water Resources Federal Secretary Muhammad Ashraf, Wapda Chairman Lt-Gen Muzammil Hussain (Retd), Water Resources Joint Secretary Syed Muhammad Mehr Ali Shah, Wapda Members, senior officers and representatives of the consulting firms were also present on the occasion. It is pertinent to mention that Pakistani engineering firm has been assigned the lead role in the contract for consultancy services in such a mega water sector project for the first time in the history of Pakistan for capacity building of the local engineering firms and making them at par with the known international consultants. Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project is being constructed on River Swat in Tribal district Mohmand of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

It is a multi-purpose project with gross water storage capacity of 1.2 million acre feet (MAF) and power generation capacity of 800 megawatt (MW). The project is scheduled to be completed in five years and eight months.