LAHORE: The World Bank Mission conducted a review of the status of implementation of Tarbela 4th extension hydropower project.

The seven-member mission consisted of energy specialist and mission leader, senior procurement specialist, advisor, social development specialist, environment specialist, operations officer and programme coordinator.

In its implementation support mission aide memoire shared with the ministry of water resources, ministry of energy, power division, and economic affairs division, the World Bank has appreciated the successful implementation and effective operation of the 1410 MW-Tarbela 4th extension hydropower project completed in 2018 in a phased manner.

Highlighting electricity generation and financial benefits of Tarbela 4th extension hydropower project since commissioning, the World Bank Aide Memoire says, "Over 12,000 Giga Watt-hours (GWh) have been generated since commissioning in 2018. The value of the electricity generated for the country is over US$1,560 million using a value of US cents 13/kilo Watt-hour (kWh), which is the cost of generation from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants. The benefit is about twice the capital cost of the project."

The World Bank Aide Memoire has further said: "The project has been very successful, starting generation on time and with a cost about 10 percent less than the budget estimated at the time of approval by the bank. This is very rare for hydropower projects worldwide."

The Tarbela 4th extension hydropower project of 1410 MW (more than Mangla) has been instrumental in meeting the electricity needs of Pakistan, triggering socioeconomic development in the country.

With the completion of the Tarbela 4th extension hydropower project, the installed generation capacity of Tarbela has increased from 3478 MW to 4888 MW.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020