Tarbela Dam capacity expected to reach 6,418 MW

HARIPUR: Wapda Chairman Lt-Gen (Retd) Sajjad Ghani on Tuesday said that Tarbela Dam was contributing to the economic development of the country.

He expressed these views during his visit to the dam. The Wapda chairman added that the under-construction Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project (T-5) would increase hydel generation.

He visited Ghazi Barrage downstream of Tarbela Dam, intake, penstock and powerhouse sites of the T-5 Project, Tarbela Hydel Power Station and Tarbela 4th Extension Hydel Power Station.

Earlier, GM Tarbela Dam/PD T-5 Project briefed him about the operations at the Tarbela Dam.

He was briefed about the progress on the under-construction T-5 Project, which is scheduled for generation in 2025.

GM (Power) of the dam made a presentation about the matters related to the operation and maintenance of the 3478 MW-Tarbela Hydelpower Station and the 1410 MW-Tarbela 4th Extension Hydel Power Station.

Tarbela Dam is vital for agriculture and the economy of the country as it provides water for agriculture, mitigates floods and generates a sizeable quantum of low-cost and environment-friendly hydel electricity.

As many as 64 million acre-feet of water are released annually from Tarbela Dam to meet the irrigation needs of the country.

In addition, Tarbela Hydel Power Station and Tarbela 4th Extension Hydel Power Station have contributed 540.37 billion units and 17.30 billion units of green, clean and cheap electricity to the national grid respectively since their commissioning.

Tarbela Dam has more than half of the total installed capacity of hydel generation in Pakistan.

With the completion of the under-construction 1530 MW-T-5 Project, the existing installed capacity of Tarbela will rise from 4888 to 6418 megawatts.