Diamer-Bhasha dam

[srh]

The 4500 MW Diamer-Bhasha Dam project was started by Pakistan President Mushraff in 2006. At that time the cost was estimated at USD 6.5 billion and the Dam was to be completed in 2012. This Dam will be the highest Roller Compacted Concrete Dam in the world.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in 2009 gave approval to this Dam. Work will start on this Dam in Septemeber 2009 and completed in 2012 and the estimated cost is now USD 12.6 billion.

One potential future problem with this Dam is that the Bhasha water reservoir is to be located in the Northern Areas and power is to be generated in the NWFP. The dam could cause a heated debate between the two regions over hydropower royalties.

Now there are reports that India is not happy with this Dam and has objected that this dam is being build in a disputed area and it would inundate large parts of land in Jammu and Kashmir.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/index....d=111&id=58158&Itemid=1&sectionid=114&secid=0

^^^I thought Northern Areas are not disputed area.

 

[Mohsin]

As long as india keep cutting off water, its all good i suppose!

 

[Golden arm]

The 4500 MW Diamer-Bhasha Dam project was started by Pakistan President Mushraff in 2006. At that time the cost was estimated at USD 6.5 billion and the Dam was to be completed in 2012. This Dam will be the highest Roller Compacted Concrete Dam in the world.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in 2009 gave approval to this Dam. Work will start on this Dam in Septemeber 2009 and completed in 2012 and the estimated cost is now USD 12.6 billion.

One potential future problem with this Dam is that the Bhasha water reservoir is to be located in the Northern Areas and power is to be generated in the NWFP. The dam could cause a heated debate between the two regions over hydropower royalties.

Now there are reports that India is not happy with this Dam and has objected that this dam is being build in a disputed area and it would inundate large parts of land in Jammu and Kashmir.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/index....d=111&id=58158&Itemid=1&sectionid=114&secid=0

^^^I thought Northern Areas are not disputed area.

over 60 years they have been building dams in kashmir on their side!
isnt that controversial area?
Why did they go for development of dam in Kashmir? any sane Pakistani knows that!
their ultimate aim is to cause severe water shortage in Pakistan.
Unfortunatley we have been falling into their hands because of our inept politicians.

 

[srh]

But my question is Northern Areas a disputed land like Kashmir? I thought they are not.

 

[Zeenix]

But my question is Northern Areas a disputed land like Kashmir? I thought they are not.

Yes it is. The Northern Areas are a part of Kashmir albeit were semi-autonomous. However it is part of Kashmir. Even during the Maharajah times, the Northern areas were basically tribal areas.

Plus it allows Pakistan to manipulate waters of Kashmir.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

ISLAMABAD: In a massive blow, the leading donor for the Bhasha Dam, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has informally reversed its commitment to finance the project, top officials in EAD, Wapda, finance and water and power ministries told The News.



This has left Pakistan in the lurch and now the authorities concerned are going to put their heads together to find out alternatives to raise funds for the most important water and power project of Pakistan.



A Wapda spokesman confirmed that the critical funding issue had emerged as a stumbling block in the project and alternative options would soon be considered to raise a massive $12 billion for the dam.



An official said that the ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Klaus Gerhaeusser held separate meetings with the Federal Water and Power Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Wapda Chairman Shakil Durrani and other officers concerned in June 2012. The issue discussed in the meetings was none other than the lead financing role that the ADB had committed to play for Bhasha Dam Project.



“It was evident from the tone of Mr Klaus that there was a change in the ADB’s stance and that for now the bank was not ready to support the construction of the dam,” the official disclosed.



ADB President Harihiku Kuroda early this year also expressed ‘reservations’ on providing funds for the project until a ‘broader donors’ coalition’ which included the World Bank was formed and the so-called ‘safeguards’ were adhered to.



As a matter of fact, both the ADB’s president and the director general for central and west Asia appeared to be unsympathetic towards financing the project, the sources revealed.



To this effect, a brain-storming session under the chairmanship of Minister of Water and Power Ch Mukhtar Ahmad may be held on August 13. Another crucial meeting is also scheduled in the Planning Commission on August 15 where top officials of all the ministries and departments concerned would participate.



The sources said that the proposals would be under consideration to securitise the assets of Wapda such as Ghazi Barotha Hydropower project or other vital assets to raise the needed funds.



However, if this proposal is implemented, the cost of hydel electricity would increase manifold, but the nation needs to be ready for this sacrifice for the huge objective to continue building Diamer-Bhahsa Dam.



The project is located on Indus River in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. It is a multi-purpose project that will store water for agriculture, mitigate floods and provide low-cost hydel electricity. On completion, the project will store 8.1 million acre feet of water and generate 4,500MW electricity, contributing about 19 billion units to the national grid per annum. The annual benefits of the project have been estimated at Rs2 billion.



In the present context, Diamer-Bhasha Dam has become an issue of life and death for 180 million people of Pakistan. Earlier, the World Bank (WB) had also brazenly refused to fund the project saying the site of the proposed project is in the disputed territory of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).



The bank later linked its willingness to fund the project in case Pakistan gets a no objection certificate from India.



The ADB has let Pakistan down and wasted crucial four years of the country in implementation of the project. Though the ADB has yet to convey its refusal officially, the dillydallying tactics on the part of the bank have not only caused an escalation in the project cost by another whopping $2 billion (at the rate of $500 million per annum), but also deprived Pakistan of $8 billion in terms of annual benefits of the project (at the rate of $2 billion per annum) over a period of the last four years.



Chairman of the executing agency of Diamer-Basha Dam Project, Wapda, Shakil Durrani in a latest communication to the Ministry of Water and Power opined that the ADB was playing games and moving close to the World Bank position on the project, and had requested the government to approach the time-tested friend China for financing the project.



The sources privy to the development have disclosed to ‘The News’ that Mr Durrani discussed the matters relating to the financing of Diamer-Basha Dam Project with the three leading Chinese firms during his recent visit to China the last week of July 2012. The firms expressed their willingness to arrange funds for the project.



In addition to the formation of a broader donors’ coalition, the alleged un-resolved issue raised by the ADB mainly includes getting of an NOC from India, the reported absence of the budgetary space with the government of Pakistan for financing the land acquisition and resettlement cost of the dam, the likely financial stress due to the start of projects other than Diamer-Basha Dam, the reported need for national consensus on the dam as the so-called reservations carry no weight, as those are either illogical or merely lame excuses to finally refuse the funding already committed by the ADB for the project.



It may not be out of place to mention that the ADB’s senior officials have committed support for the project at least four times during last four years. In December 2011, the ADB agreed to provide grant for technical assistance for conducting due diligent studies of the project.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-Ne...eft-with-no-option-but-to-pledge-Wapda-assets

 

[uberkoen]

The construction work of Diamir Bhasha Dam, one of the most important energy projects of the country, would start in the next year.

The land acquisition process for the project has been finalized with a cost of Rs104 billion according to official sources in the Ministry of Planning Development and Reforms.

The project likely to be part of second phase of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is life and death for Pakistan as it would not only generate 4,500 MW of electricity but would also serve as a huge water reservoir for the country.

After a decade the country is expected to face acute shortage of water so in order to prevent food starvation this project would be developed at any cost Minister for Planning Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal told a recently held meeting here. He said the government assigns the highest priority to Bhasha Dam because a serious water crisis is looming in next five to ten years which will be much bigger than electricity crisis. The foundation stone of Diamir Bhasha Dam a gravity damon the River Indus in Gilgit Baltistan was laid on October 18, 2011. Upon completion Diamir Bhasha Dam would be the highest,roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam in the world.

The dam site is situated near a place called Bhasha in,Gilgit Baltistan s Diamir District hence the name.

Diamir Bhasha Dam would produce 4 500 megawatts of electricity through environmentally clean hydropower generation store an extra 8 500 000 acre feet (10.5 km3) of water for the country that would be used for irrigation and drinking extend the life of Tarbela Dam located downstream by35 years and control flood damage by the River Indus downstream during high floods.

It will have a height of 272 meters spillway with fourteen gates each 11.5 m x 16.24 m.

The gross capacity of the reservoir will be 8,100,000 acre feet (10.0 km3) with a live storage of 6,400,000 acre feet (7.9 km3).

Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/84769-Diamir-Bhasha-Dam-construction-to-start-next-year

 

[giri26]

PESHAWAR: Former Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) chairman Shamsul Mulk has said construction of multifaceted Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams is inevitable to stave off looming water and food crises in the country.

He urged people, especially the philanthropists, land owners, industrialists and others, to come forward and contribute generously to the Supreme Court’s fund for the construction of the two dams.

He asked them to play a constructive role in making the country self-sufficient in the areas of energy, food and water. Terming construction of big dams extremely vital, he voiced fear “Pakistan will face a drought-like situation if big dams like Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand are not constructed by 2030.”

Consequently, mass exodus from drought-stricken areas will start and migration from villages to urban areas will take place. He stressed that no initiative was presently as important for the country as the construction of new dams to have clean drinking water and food for millions of people besides promoting infant industries and feeding the agriculture sector. Mulk said construction of new dams would lead to immense uplift of Khyber-Pakthunkhwa where thousands of hectares of land were standing uncultivated due to water scarcity.

“No development is possible with fast depleting energy resources,” he said. “Agriculture and industrial sectors are in dire need of water and energy to keep their wheels running.”

“Approximately, 40,000 medium and large-sized dams had been constructed around the world in the 20th century,” he said. “Of these, the US built 7,500, China 22,000 and India 4,600 dams while Pakistan constructed a limited number of reservoirs only.”

He lamented that not a single dam was constructed after Tarbela in the country. “The current water crisis would not have emerged had Diamer-Bhasha, Mohmand and Kalabagh dams been constructed timely,” he said.

All those who opposed the construction of Kalabagh dam were in fact misguided about the mega project besides lack of knowledge about the looming water crisis in the country, he said. “Had these dams been constructed, we would have 50,000 megawatts of electricity at our disposal today,” he stressed. “But to our utter dismay, the country is generating only around 6,000 megawatts from hydel resources.”

https://tribune.com.pk/story/180179...a-mohmand-dams-vital-avert-water-food-crisis/

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Pakistan should have just accepted the Chinese offer to build this as part of cpec. Sure the ownership framework was controversial but at least it would have been built in a timely manner. And a small % of a dam that is built and up and running soon is better than 100% of a dam that takes decades to complete.