Dasu Dam seek funds from World Bank

Islamabad: Dasu hydropower project seeks help from World Bank to finance $7.5 billion as other international lenders are not willing to invest in this project. It will generate 4,320-megawatt. While, the Diamer Bhasha dam is not into consideration for completion nowadays.

The federal government wrote last month to the Washington-based lending agency to start the process for the approval of a $700 million loan for the Dasu hydropower project, according to sources in the Ministry of Finance.

As the WB was more than willing to finance the Dasu project over the 4,500-MW Diamer Bhasha dam, it immediately started the process and an appraisal mission of the WB is already in town, according to sources in Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).

The further meetings will hold in Islamabad this week and decide a date for presenting the project in front of the Board of Directors of the WB to approve a $700million loan.
The site of Dasu power project is 74 kilometers (km) downstream of the Diamer Bhasha dam and 350 km from Islamabad.

The supporting study and detailed engineering designs of the project were already completed and tender documents ready to be issued.

Already the WB in the past kept refusing to finance the Diamer Bhasha dam, requesting a no-objection certificate from India first.

The WB country office confirmed that the work on approving the loan for Dasu project was underway.
The international lenders are not willing to contribute in the financing of Diamer project, as it requires massive financing.

They argued that work on Dasu could be completed in four phases with initial funding through loans in the first phase, while the rest of the work can be completed by Pakistan.