According to the press release, the construction of the dam is estimated at Rs 1406.5 billion. Announcing the commencement of work on the construction of the dam immediately, it was stated that the construction of the dam would be completed in the year 2028.
Similarly, an agreement worth Rs. 442 billion was also signed with the partners of the two companies for the construction of the Diamer Bhasha Dam Project Diversion System, Main Dam, Access Bridge, and 21 MW Tangier Hydropower Project. These are given to a partner called Diamer Bhasha Consultants Group. The Consultant Group consists of 12 companies, the parent company of which is Nespak.
The Water and Power Development Authority of Pakistan (WAPDA) has announced that the contract for the construction of Pakistan’s largest Diamer-Bhasha Dam has been awarded to the Pakistan Army-run Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and the Chinese government. The company is a partner of Power China.
Why is the contract for Mohmand Dam controversial?
According to WAPDA, a contract for consultancy services was also awarded for the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam project. The consultancy services contract worth Rs. 27.18 billion has been awarded to a partner named Diamer Bhasha Consultants Group. The consultant group consists of 12 companies, with Nespak as its parent company.
According to Diamer-Bhasha Dam project sources, Rs 175 billion will be allocated for land acquisition and payments for the dam, resettlement of victims, and local development.
Obstacles to the project
Part of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam will be built in Gilgit-Baltistan, and India has long claimed the Gilgit-Baltistan region.
According to WAPDA sources, the cost of the dam in 2008 was about 12 billion. Pakistan could not provide this huge amount of money from its own resources. Therefore, it was expected that the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Aga Khan Network would provide capital. But with the launch of the dam project, India had raised objections to the project.
Investment in the construction of the dam was temporarily halted by international organizations over India’s objections. But in 2012/13, despite the efforts of the then government, international institutions made the provision of capital from India conditional on NOC.
Asim Saleem Bajwa has claimed in his tweet that Pakistanis will get 16500 jobs from this project, while 4500 MW of electricity will be generated.
Rs. 791 billion has been allocated for Diamer-Bhasha Dam for power generation and other needs. Rs 480 billion is earmarked for the construction of the Tangier Hydropower Project.
Retired Lt. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information, claimed in his tweet that the project would provide 16,500 jobs to Pakistanis and generate 4,500 MW of electricity. He termed the commencement of the construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam as great good news.
Pakistan considers Diamer-Bhasha Dam essential for electricity and water. Pakistan has not built any major dam since the 1960s.
Diamer Bhasha Dam and its location:
The dam is to be built in Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan and Bhasha in the border region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Part of it falls in the Kohistan region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while part of it falls in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan, hence the name Diamerbhasha Dam. The dam will be built on the Indus River. The construction will take place at an altitude of 315 km from Tarbela Dam, 165 km from Gilgit-Baltistan’s capital Gilgit and 40 km from Chilas on the lower reaches of the Indus. According to WAPDA, the height of the dam will be 272 meters. Its 14 spillway gates will be constructed. It will have a total storage capacity of 8.10 million acre-feet, while it will have 6.40 million acre-feet of water at all times.
Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesman Faizullah Faraq claims that the area falls in Diamer district. This area belongs to the Diamer tribes. He said that our people are not against the dam but consider the dam as a guarantor of regional and national development, but before the construction of the dam, this dispute must be resolved.