Diamer-Bhasha Dam: WAPDA chairman reviews river diversion system

LAHORE: Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Lt Gen (R) Engr. Sajjad Ghani visited the Diamer-Bhasha Dam Project to review the river diversion system, which has been operational for a week after partial diversion of the River Indus at the Diamer Basha Dam Project site.

According to the WAPDA spokesman here Sunday, the diversion system consists of about one kilometre (Km) – long diversion tunnel, 0.857 Km-long diversion canal and two coffer (starter) dams – one at the upstream and other at the downstream of the main dam site.

WAPDA succeeded in diverting the River Indus partially last week through the diversion system constructed for the purpose. Now-a-days, the mighty River Indus is flowing mainly through diversion tunnel and diversion canal, while partly through its natural course.

The WAPDA Chairman also reviewed construction progress on different sites of the project.

The CEO, GM and Project Director Diamer-Bhasha Dam and representatives of the consultants and the contractors were also present during the chairman’s visit.

He was briefed about the test-run of the diversion system. The diversion tunnel and diversion canal are functioning satisfactorily. At present, construction work is continuing smoothly on 13 sites simultaneously. he was further briefed.

It is pertinent to mention that WAPDA is all set to achieve the land mark of Indus River diversion at the Diamer Basha Dam Project next week by plugging the upstream coffer dam. The River Indus will, then, be flowing completely through the diversion system, bypassing the main dam site and rejoining its natural course after about a distance of 800 meters.

The Diamer Basha Dam Project is being constructed on the River Indus, 40-Km downstream of Chilas town. This mega multipurpose project is scheduled for completion in 2028. It has a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 MAF to irrigate 1.23 million acres of land. Power generation capacity of the project stands at 4,500 MW, with annual energy generation of 18 billion units.

The Diamer Basha Dam is amongst 8 under-construction WAPDA projects, which are scheduled for completion from 2024 to 2028-29. These projects will add about 10,000 MW of low-cost and environment-friendly hydel electricity and store 9.7 million acre feet of water.