During his day-long visit, Chairman WAPDA Engr Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani (Retd) reviewed the progress made on the Diamer Basha Dam Project. The 272-meter-high Diamer Basha Dam, the world’s highest roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam, is being constructed across the River Indus, 40 km downstream of Chilas town. Currently, construction work is underway on 17 key sites of the Project at a time and at a good pace. The Project is scheduled for completion in 2028.
In the first leg, the Chairman visited, in detail, diversion tunnels 1 and 2, upstream and downstream coffer (temporary) dams, guide wall, dam pit and permanent bridge. He also inspected the material testing laboratory during the visit. Member (Water) WAPDA was also present on the occasion.
The CEO of Diamer Basha Dam Company, GM/PD Diamer Basha Dam Project and the Project Managers of the Consultants and the Contractors made site-wise on-field briefing to the Chairman. It was briefed that the project’s river diversion system is functioning satisfactorily during the current high-flow season. Excavation work on the dam’s abutment continues, while the permanent access bridge downstream of the main dam has been completed.
Reviewing the overall progress, the Chairman encouraged the Consultants and Contractors to accelerate the construction pace to match the timelines for the Project’s completion.
It is important to note that Diamer Basha Dam has a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 MAF, enough to irrigate 1.23 million acres of land. The project’s power generation capacity stands at 4,500 MW, with an annual energy generation of 18 billion units.
In the second leg of the visit, the Chairman held Jirga with the elders of Diamer and Upper Kohistan. GM (Land Acquisition and Resettlement) WAPDA and the Civil Administration of Diamer and Upper Kohistan also participated in the Jirga. Confidence building measures (CBM) by WAPDA for resettlement, health, education and infrastructure development in the project areas of the Diamer Basha Dam and Dasu Hydropower Project were discussed in detail. The Chairman said that Rs. 78.5 billion and Rs. 17.35 billion are being spent to execute development schemes under the CBMs for the Diamer Basha Dam and Dasu Hydropower Project, respectively. In addition, locals are also a priority for employment on both projects. Detailed deliberations were also made on the Hold (Chulha) Package for affectees of the Diamer Basha Dam and the Area Development Programme for the Dasu Project during the interaction.
