President of Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) Mian Zahid Hussain has said that uncontroversial dams should be established immediately so the current water wastage is avoided due to lack of water reservoirs in the country. "China has proposed 40 environment-friendly small gravity dams which will be completed at double cost as compared to Kalabagh dam but electricity production will be 14 times more than Kalabagh dam i.e. 50 thousand mega watt at cheaper rate," he said.
Mian Zahid said if Kalabagh dam is approved by all provinces then it's a good option for sure but till then government should not ignore other feasible energy-producing and water reservoir option such as small gravity dams. "By establishing Chinese-proposed gravity dams Pakistan will not only suffice in energy requirements but will also be able to export electricity to other countries," he said, adding that it would definitely improve the national economy and will also benefit the industrial sector of the country.
PBIF president said that an example of gravity dam established by China at Chashma is already available in Pakistan which produces 280MW of electricity. He said small dams are preferred across the globe due to its usefulness.
He said that by constructing the long proposed Katzarah dam at Skardu can store 35 million acre feet water along with the electricity production facility of 15000 MW. The estimated cost of this dam is $15 billion. He said Kalabagh dam can be constructed at the estimated cost of $7bn with water storage facility of 6.1 million acre feet and electricity production of only 3600 MW.
Katzarah dam is 6 times greater than Kalabagh dam. "In addition, no controversy involves in constructing Katzarah dam unlike Kalabagh dam which is strongly opposed by 3 provinces," he said, adding that life of Kalabagh dam is only 25 years while Katzarah dam's life will be many times more than that. He said Katzarah dam can be completed in just 3 years after construction work is started.