Diamer-Bhasha Dam: Wapda intends to award contract anytime soon, Umar told

The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) intends to award the contract for the main dam and allied structures within next few weeks to start the construction activities in the current fiscal year 2019-20.
The Wapda informed this to a meeting chaired by Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar to review the status of progress on the Diamer-Bhasha Dam project Thursday.
The minister was informed that work on Diamer-Bhasha Dam project was under way and an expenditure of Rs99.238 billion including Rs93.9 billion for land acquisition had been incurred on the project till February 2020.
It was further informed that more expenditure of around Rs61 billion was planned during the current financial year.
This includes Rs22 billion on resettlement and Rs39 billion on construction related activities.
The meeting was told that the project was divided into six major components, for which separate contracts would be awarded in a phased manner.
The dam part of the project is expected to be completed by September 2027, while the overall completion is expected in March 2028.
The meeting was further informed that Prime Minister-Supreme Court Dam Fund had an amount of Rs12.17 billion, available with it, which was currently invested in Market Treasury Bills (MTBs).
The minister directed the relevant officials to make sure that the work on the project progresses as per the timelines.
According to sources, at least $12 billion was required to build the Diamer-Bhasha Dam.
While $5 billion was required to build infrastructure, another $7 billion was needed for power generation.
It is also reported that Pakistani-British boxer Amir Khan has announced to donate an amount of £10,997 to the funds for the construction of Diamer-Basha and Mohmand dams.
According to the Wapda, Diamer-Bhasha Dam is being constructed on Indus River near Chilas, (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan), 315 kilometers from Tarbela Dam, and about 40-km downstream of Chilas Town.
The PC1 for dam part amounting to Rs474 billion was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on April 17, 2018.
Subsequently after inclusion of 15MW Tangir HPP, the revised cost of PC1 amounting to Rs479.686 billion approved by the Ecnec on November 14, 2018, the authority said.