Engineer Mumtaz Ahmed Khan, former director of Kalabagh dam project and Convenor of KBD construction movement has said that there is only one solution to Pakistan's energy crisis and that is construction of a big reservoir (Kalabagh Dam). The construction of this dam would not only store water for irrigation but also could also generate 3600-megawatt electricity.
He was of the view that the problems related to water and energy crisis in the country can be resolved by building Kalabagh Dam. He also identified the various factors that proved to be impediments in the construction of Kalabagh Dam. 'Every year about 92 billion Kilowatt-hours of electricity is generated in Pakistan with an average cost of Rs 6 per unit. This cost could be reduced to Rs 3 per unit if the KBD is constructed', he added.
At present the energy mix consists of 32 per cent hydel, 32 per cent gas based generation, and 32 per cent oil based energy production, and 4 per cent is being generated from other sources such as nuclear and coal, he said.'Hydel power is generated at the cost of Rs 1.02 per unit, gas at Rs 5.46 per unit, oil at Rs 12.04 per unit and the remaining 4 per cent is being produced at a cost of Rs 5.30 per unit.
So as per this arrangement the average price for electricity to distribution companies stands at Rs 6 per unit, he added. 'Energy mix in the past was 65 per cent hydel and 35 per cent was being produced from other resources so the average cost of electricity was affordable. WAPDA was not in the worst position those days as it is now', Engr Mumtaz Ahmed was of the view. He held the political leadership responsible for creating hurdles in the KBD project. 'Our country is unlucky to have leaders who should be held responsible for procrastinating KBD.
KBD should have been built in the 90's and Basha Dam should have been built during this decade as per the plan of WAPDA', he stressed.' In 1988 the initial work on KBD was complete and it was presented for the approval', but the civil leadership of that time started opposing it. During the first step, Sindh government opposed the dam with no solid reasoning, he said.'And later the response from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were also not logical even though the technocrats worked a lot to eliminate their reservations', he explained.