The Diamer Basha Dam Project is being developed on the Indus River near Chilas, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan regions
Officials from Pakistan WAPDA among others during the contract signing ceremony. (Credit: WAPDA)
The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has awarded a contract, worth Rs442bn ($2.73bn), to a joint venture of Power China and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) for the construction of the Diamer Basha Dam Project.
Under the contract, the joint venture will construct diversion system, main dam, access bridge and 21MW Tangir hydropower project.
WAPDA chairman Muzammil Hussain said that the Diamer Basha Dam will support economic development and social uplift of the country.
The $14bn Diamer Basha is a multi-purpose mega-dam project planned to be developed on the Indus River near Chilas, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan regions of Pakistan.
$14bn Diamer Basha mega-dam project to be commissioned in 2028
Scheduled for completion in 2028, the project will have 4.5GW of power generating capacity and a gross storage capacity of 8.1million acre feet (MAF).
WAPDA said it has already signed consultancy services contract, worth Rs.27.182bn ($131.1), with Diamer Basha Consultants Group (DBCG) for the Diamer Basha Dam.
The scope of the contract includes construction design, construction supervision and contract administration of Diamer Basha Dam Project.
In 2018, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) of the Government of Pakistan approved £2.34bn financing to fund the preliminary dam construction phase of the Diamer Bhasha project.
The Diamer Bhasha Dam will be located on the Indus River, in the Diamer district of Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan province, approximately 315km upstream of the Tarbela Dam and 40km downstream of the Chilas town.
It also includes two powerhouses that are planned to be developed in Kohistan, in the neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.