Minister puts weight behind Tarbela project push

ISLAMABAD: Omar Ayub Khan, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, on Monday directed the authorities to remove all bottlenecks and complete Tarbela Hydropower Project (T5) on time.

“Completion of T5 project is critical to help meet rapidly increasing demand of electricity in the country and improve energy-mix by increasing the share of clean energy,” Ayub said chairing a high-level meeting.

The meeting was called to review the progress of T5, Dasu Hydropower Project, and Dasu-Mansehra-Islamabad Transmission Line, according to an official statement. Senior officials of Ministry of Water Resources, Water & Power DevelopmentAuthority(WAPDA), National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC), and project directors attended the session.

Under 5th extension of Tarbela Hydropower Project, the power generation capacity of Tarbela Dam would be enhanced by 1,410 MW. The World Bank has provided $390 million for 5th extension of Tarbela Hydropower Project, while Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has also committed to provide $300 million for this project.

The Member, WAPDA, informed the meeting the contractors had been mobilised on the project site and the construction activities were picking up. Minister for Economic Affairs said local people had suffered a lot due to land acquisition for construction of dam in 1960s & 1970s.

He instructed the project officials to provide more job opportunities to the locals, especially the affectees of Tarbela Dam, as per project and contract agreements. The minister also tasked the officials to review the performance of already completed community development schemes.

Demanding that community development schemes be prepared in consultation with local communities to address genuine needs, he stressed on resuming all development activities and accelerating Dasu Dam project to ensure its timely completion.

He expressed revamping and augmentation of power transmission system was critical to ensure smooth and efficient evacuation and supply of power. Ayub directed the relevant authorities to identify the critical path and set timelines for expeditious implementation of all the foreign-funded projects.