Wapda fails to win AJK govt support: Mangla dam project
By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, July 8: The Rs53 billion raising of the Mangla dam project has cost around Rs100 million over a period of one year, although it has remained a non-starter so far.
The Wapda has been unable to muster sufficient support of the people and the government of Azad Kashmir for the project, sources in the finance ministry said, adding that another sum of Rs1 billion had been allocated for the project in the current fiscal year.
When contacted, the Wapda sources, however, said that it had incurred around Rs16.875 million up to April, 2002, and completed around 80 per cent work of the resettlement assessment survey to determine the extent of the population and property to be affected as a result of the proposed raising of the dam height by 40 feet.
Of the total Rs53 billion project cost, an amount of Rs20 billion would be required for the resettlement of around 40,000 people.
This is a water resources development project designed to increase water storage capacity by raising the dam embankments and related structures of the existing project.
Originally, the dam had a gross storage capacity of 5.88 million acre feet, which has shrunk by 20 per cent over the last 34 years due to sedimentation.
According to the Wapda claims, the feasibility study has shown that raising of the Mangla dam is technically feasible and economically viable. The people and the Azad Kashmir government have so far opposed the project.
However, some experts within Wapda suggest that the consultants who had designed the original structure of the dam decades ago had warned that there would always be the temptation to increase its height but the structure would not be sustainable.
The additional water available will be used for agriculture through the existing irrigation network and no additional works on water outlets or power stations would be required.
The project is to take four years and a half from the date of commencement of the works.
