Chairman of Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority, Shakil Durrani, has announced that the detailed engineering design of the 4500MW Diamer Basha Dam has been completed following extensive reviews by an international panel of experts.
The Diamer Basha project, which will involve construction of a 272m high RCC dam to impound a 100km long reservoir, will be the largest project ever executed in Pakistan, Durrani stated during a presentation held at the end of June.
Funding of Rs200M (US$4.6M) has been allocated in the country’s federal budget 2008-09, while the pre-qualification process of the contractors has already been initiated. Construction on the project is expected to commence next year following international competitive biddings.
Once complete, the project will contribute more than 18,000GWh annually to the National Grid.