LAHORE: The year 2024 marks a momentous occasion for developing water and hydropower resources in Pakistan, as the iconic Tarbela Dam turns 50 this year.

Water filling in the reservoir commenced 50 years ago after WAPDA completed the civil works of Tarbela Dam in the third quarter of 1974.

Tarbela Dam has stood as a symbol of national pride for the last five decades. The project has played an instrumental role in economic development and social uplift in Pakistan in the previous 50 years.

The contribution the Tarbela Dam Project has made towards progress in the country can be judged from the fact that it has released 406 million acre-feet (MAF) of stored water from the reservoir for agriculture and contributed 590,361 million units of low-cost and environment-friendly hydel electricity to the national grid.

It is important to note that the economic and financial benefits of one MAF of water in Pakistan are estimated at US$1,000 million (US$1 billion). Therefore, the total benefits accrued from Tarbela Dam during the last 50 years stand at $406 billion.

Tarbela reservoir, which spans an area of 259 square kilometres, initially had a live storage of 9.68 MAF. However, during the last 50 years, sedimentation has reduced it to 5.77 MAF.

A power station on the right bank near the toe of the main dam has 17 power units at Tunnels 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Tarbela is Pakistan’s biggest electricity generation facility, with an installed capacity of 4888 MW—51.6 percent of the total hydel capacity of WAPDA. The installed capacity at Tarbela will increase to 6418 MW after the under-construction Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project is completed.

The cost of the Tarbela Dam Project, including power units 1 to 14, amounts to $2,630 million. The cost of the Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project, with power units 15 to 17, stands at US$1,075 million, while that of the under-construction Tarbela 5th Extension, with power units 18 to 20, is estimated at $807 million.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024