Construction work starts on Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Pakistan
- July 28, 2020
- Posted by: administrator
- Category: Engineering, Asia
Construction work has started on the Diamer-Bhasha Dam at River Indus near Chilas in Pakistan – the 272-metre high dam will provide the country with installed power generation capacity of 4500 megawatt (MW) and provide more than 18 billion units per annum to the National Grid.
The strategically important Diamer Basha Dam Project will be the country’s third largest dam after the Tarbela and Mangla dams.
The Diamer Basha Dam is the second mega multi-purpose dam started by the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in the last year – construction work on the Mohmand Dam began in 2019.
The dam, a vital project for water, food and energy security of Pakistan, is being constructed on the River Indus, 315 Kilometer (Km) upstream of Tarbela Dam, 180 Km downstream of Gilgit, and 40 Km downstream of Chilas town. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2028-29.
The project has three core objectives – water storage for agriculture, flood mitigation and hydel power generation. The dam will have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 million acre feet (MAF) to irrigate 1.23 million acres of additional land.
Construction of Diamer Basha Dam will also have a positive impact on the annual energy generation of the existing hydel power stations including Tarbela, Ghazi Barotha that will increase by another 2.5 billion units. In addition, the life of Tarbela Dam will also increase by another 35 years.
On a visit to the site to mark the start of work on the project, Prime Minister Imran Khan described the construction of the dam as a “window of development and opportunities” which would bring immense development in the area.
Imran Khan said other neglected parts of the country, including former tribal areas and Balochistan were also being given unprecedented funds to bring them into mainstream development.