Wapda, Chinese firm sign deal for construction of Dasu hydropower project

LAHORE: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) signed the contract worth Rs4.8 billion with the China Railway First Group (CRFG) for the construction of project colony and allied infrastructure for Dasu hydropower project.
The contract includes construction of project offices, residential houses, hostels, rest house, hospital, community centre, parks and playground, which will be completed in around two years.
Dasu Hydropower Project General Manager (Wapda) Haji Muhammad Farooq Ahmed and CRFG General Manager Xian Zhengjum signed the agreement on behalf of their organisations in a ceremony held at the Wapda House on Tuesday.
Wapda Chairman Zafar Mahmood, Member (Water) Muhammad Shoaib Iqbal, Member (Power) Badrul Munir Murtiza, senior Wapda officials and representatives of the project consultants participated in the ceremony.
The Wapda Chairman said that this is another good day for Dasu hydropower project, as the fourth contract of the project has been awarded through a transparent system for bid evaluation.
He urged upon the contractor to complete the work within the stipulated time. The Wapda chairman also said that the expressions of interest (EoIs) submitted by various construction firms of international repute for civil works of the dam and powerhouse are being processed, while construction on the dam and powerhouse will commence as soon as the required process is completed.
The contractors of three contracts, which were awarded earlier, mobilised at sites for construction of 132kV transmission line from Duber-Khwar Hydel Power Station to Dasu project site, relocation of Karakoram Highway and construction of the right bank access road.
The federal government is implementing Dasu hydropower project in two phases. The World Bank is financing Phase-I of the project with an IDA credit of $588.4 million and an IDA PCG of $460 million.
The 2,160MW Phase-I is scheduled to be completed in five years and will contribute more than 12 billion units of cheap, affordable and environment-friendly electricity to the national grid every year.
The project will not only add a sizeable quantum of low-cost electricity to the national grid, but also provide relief to the consumers by reducing the power tariff.
To cap it all, the project will usher in a new era of socioeconomic development in the far-flung areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.