Three firms submit proposals for construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam

Lahore: (The NEWS) In what can be termed historic moment, three-world renowned consortia submitted their proposals to the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) for consultancy services for main works of the 4500-MW Diamer Bhasha Dam Project.

According to a Wapda spokesman, the pre-qualified consortiums led by AECOM of the United States of America, Mott Mac Donald Limited of the UK and Lahmeyer of Germany put forward their proposals for construction supervision and contract administration.

The construction of Diamer Bhasha Dam is the top priority of the present government.

The proposals for consultancy services mark a step forward for construction of the project.

In view of its immense significance for water storage, flood mitigation and electricity generation, the government through Ministry of Water & Power and Wapda was implementing Diamer Bhasha Dam as a priority project. The commitment of the government vis-à-vis construction of Diamer Bhasha Dam Project could be gauged from the fact that it had allocated Rs.25 billion in the current fiscal year for the core project, the spokesperson said.

On the one hand, the government had expedited the process to start work on the main project, while on the other hand it was also in contact with the friendly countries and international financial institutions for arrangement of funds for construction of the multi-billion dollar project.

Diamer Bhasha Dam Project is a multi-purpose project aimed at storing water for agriculture, mitigating floods and generating low cost hydel electricity. On completion, the project would store 8.1 million acre feet of water and generate 4,500 MW electricity, contributing about 20 billion units of low-cost hydel electricity annually to the national grid.

For construction of Diamer Bhasha Dam, acquisition of land, development of infrastructure in the project area and implementation of social action plan were continuing simultaneously through the funds provided by the government of Pakistan. The acquisition of land was in progress through the governments of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.