Chairman WAPDA Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed (Retd) today visited in detail the major components of Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project (T5 HPP) being constructed on Tunnel No. 5 of Tarbela Dam with financial assistance of World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Member (Water) Syed Ali Akhtar Shah, Member (Power) Muhammad Arfan Miana, GM/PD T5 HPP, GM Tarbela Dam, and GM (Power) Tarbela, Advisor Projects WAPDA and Advisor T4 & T5 were also present on the occasion.

During the visit, the Chairman was briefed on progress, challenges, and timelines for the completion of critical activities on the intake structure, connecting tunnel, powerhouse, switch yard, and transmission line. He was further briefed that overall progress on the project stands at 56%. With the completion of civil and electro-mechanical works, the first unit of the project is scheduled to start electricity generation in April 2027.

Reviewing progress on the project, the Chairman said that the construction pace needs to be accelerated on key work fronts, such as connecting the tunnel and powerhouse, with concerted efforts from the consultants, contractors, and WAPDA’s project team. He also directed the project management team to ensure the quality of work stipulated for the project’s implementation.

Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project has a cumulative generation capacity of 1530 MW with three generating units of 510 MW each. The World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are providing US$ 390 million and US$ 300 million, respectively, for the project’s construction. Tarbela 5th Extension will provide 1.466 billion units of low-cost, green and clean electricity to the National Grid every year. With the completion of Tarbela 5th Extension, the installed power generation capacity at Tarbela Dam will increase from 4888 MW to 6418 MW.

Later, the Chairman also visited the low-level outlets and the powerhouse of the 1410 MW-Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project. Since its commissioning in 2018, Tarbela 4th Extension has supplied 33 billion units of electricity to the National Grid.