Diamer Bhasha Dam: Wapda may award contract in 6 to 8 weeks: chairman

The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) is all set to commence construction work on Diamer Basha Dam following award of contract in six to eight weeks while the under-construction Mohmand Dam and Dasu Hydropower Project (Stage-I) will be completed in 2024-25.

This was stated by Chairman Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain (Retd) while addressing the inaugurating ceremony of the 9th Asian Young Geotechnical Engineering Conference and the 15th International Conference on Geotechnical Engineering at University of Engineering and Technology Lahore. The 3-day conferences have been organized by Pakistan Geotechnical Engineering Society (PGES).

Chairman Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) Prof Dr Fazal Ahmad Khalid, President PGES Engr Amjad Agha, Secretary General PGES Dr Tahir Masood and Chairman Civil Engineering Department UET Prof Dr Aziz Akbar were also present.

Addressing the inaugural session of the two events, the Chairman said that WAPDA has been playing a pivotal role in development of multi-disciplinary engineering professions, as it has the honour of being the largest engineering organization in Pakistan.

The projects constructed by WAPDA in water and hydropower sectors have been contributing for economic stability and social uplift in the country, he added.

The Chairman said that WAPDA added 2487 MW cheap, green and clean energy to the National Grid last year with completion of three hydropower projects namely the 1410-MW Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project, the 969 MW-Neelum Jhelum and the 108 MW-Golen Gol.

Dilating upon the strategy to harness water and hydropower resources, the Chairman said that WAPDA is committed to adding five Million Acre Feet (MAF) to water storage and 4600 MW hydropower generation by 2025 and another eight MAF water storage and 16000 MW power generation by 2030 by completing various projects.

The PGES President Amjad Agha in his welcome remarks highlighted the importance of the conferences for advancement of geotechnical engineering in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, PGES Secretary General and National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) Managing Director Dr Tahir Masood said that it was always a pleasure to come to this university as he had been the student of this university.

On behalf of Pakistan Geotechnical Engineering Society, he thanked the President of the Society, Amjad Agha for making this event a success.

He also thanked the UET VC as well as Dr Aziz Akbar, Chairman Conference Organising Committee and his team for providing all the facilities. He also appreciated foreign delegates for attending the conference as it was very difficult to come to Pakistan.

He said that the foreign visitors would surely tell the rest of the world that Pakistan was not a dangerous place rather it is a safe place. It is a beautiful country with beautiful people.

UET Civil Engineering Department and Conference Organizing Committee Chairman Professor Dr Aziz Akbar said that the two conferences will bring together the best of ideas to discuss the new challenges in geotechnical engineering with special reference to transport infrastructure in the ongoing mega CPEC projects in Pakistan. He also said that 9th AYGEC brought together young geotechnical engineers from different countries of Region from universities, academicians, researchers, industries, government organizations and others with interest in Geotechnical Engineering to interact and exchange experiences in Asian context.

The main purpose of the conference was to provide an interactive platform for young geotechnical engineers, the interaction of foreign and young geotechnical engineers in the field of innovations in geotechnical engineering, as well as the identification of possible ways for future cooperation in the fields of construction, education and science. Eminent persons from UK, Tokyo, London, USA, Columbus, Australia and Pakistan delivered keynote lectures on different aspects of the conference themes.

More than 70 research papers had been presented on the themes; Dams and Hydropower, Field Investigations and Laboratory Testing, Geomatics Techniques, Environmental Geotechnics, Tunneling and Underground Structures, Problematic Soils, Ground Improvement, Liquefaction Potential and Mitigation, Risk Assessment in Geotechnical Engineering, Risk Preparedness and Early Warning Systems, Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, Natural and Induced Seismicity, Deep Excavations, Hazard Zonification, Numerical Modeling, Geotechnical Analysis & Design, Case Histories and many other relevant topics.

Best paper prize of US$250 shall be awarded to three best research papers presented at the event sponsored by Centre GRE of University of Wollongong Australia similarly cash prizes worth up to Rs10,000 from PGES will be awarded to three winners of poster presentations. Selected papers from the conferences shall be considered for journal publication in Pakistan Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Noted scholars from Australia, Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan, Canada, USA, and Saudi Arabia presented technical papers during the conference.