ATTOCK, March 23: The Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project (GBHP) is nearing completion as the deadline for the commissioning of its first 290 mega watt unit is set as June of the current year.

The rest of the four units, each one having the capacity of 290mw, with a total of 1450mw would start generating electricity in June 2004 while its earlier date of commencement was April 2002.

The PC-I of the GBHP was approved on July 19, 1994 with a cost of Rs89.840 billion and a completion period of 56 months.

The contracts of a barrage, CE-01, at Ghazi and two kilometres long water channel from Ghazi to Barotha were awarded to a consortium of contractors including an Italian firm while the contract of power complex at Barotha (Attock) was awarded to the a Chinese company.

According to the World Bank review mission of June 15, 2000, the commissioning of the first turbine and generator was to be held on August 14, 2002 and the project commencement date was set as July 15, 2003.

The report indicates a delay of about two years in the completion of the project and owing to the suspension and slow pace of work, the GBHP will not be functioning even on the date given by the World Bank review mission.

While the annual loss owing to increase in the cost of project comes to Rs11,400 million and the authority has to bear an extra cost of Rs22,800 million on account of two years delay.

Another reason for delay in the project was stoppage of construction work by the contractors in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States and the US-led coalition air strikes on Afghanistan.

The delay, sources said, was costing one million dollars per day to Wapda and the total loss had reached to about 110 million dollars. The situation reached such a point that Pakistan had to warn the firm that there was no justification to further delay the construction, so either resume the construction or face a legal action, they added.

However, the sources said, in February 2002 the two parties struck a deal and the construction of the project resumed in March 2002 and most of the foreign employees were recalled.

They said over one billion rupees was paid to GBC against its claims.

On the other hand, Wapda is confident that the first unit of GBHP will start functioning in June. Wapda said that more than 90 per cent work on the channel had been completed, which was world’s largest channel for generating hydro-electricity.

While 97 per cent work on the barrage, 80 per cent on the power complex had been completed and overall ‘physical progress’ was also in the final stage and would be ready for testing and functioning in the month of June, the sources added.