LAHORE, June 19: The first unit of 290-megawatt of Ghazi Brotha Hydel Project went into operation on Wednesday and contributed around 50mw of electricity to the national grid.

The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) kept its going into operation a low-key affair, fearing any teething problems might beset it. On Wednesday, it contributed around 50mw, and on Thursday this went up to 190mw.

“The unit is still in its testing phase and would remain so till mid-July,” said Wapda Chairman Zulfiqar Ali Khan. By the middle of next month, the unit should be able to take full load of 290mw and be ready for formal inauguration by August 14.

Four more units would be added every quarter, and within a year the GBHP would be contributing 1,450 mw, he said.

“The whole affair went very smoothly and no problems were faced by the authority,” said Member (Power), Mr Asghar Ali Randhawa.

The project is still with the water wing and will be handed over to the power wing once its construction is completed. But, up to now, the operation has not hit any snags, he claimed.

Mr Ahmad Khan Bhatti, Member (Water), who oversaw the project’s construction phase, was of the opinion that credit for completing the project on time must be given to the present management. It was virtually impossible to beat the deadline after Sept 11 tragedy when the Italian contractor left citing security reasons.

Funding hiccups also created occasional jitters. But the authority was able to meet the deadline and arrange local and foreign funding in spite of all this. It is a historic moment and must be taken as such, he said.

The ministry would invite the president and prime minister for inauguration on August 14, he added.

“This is the first major hydel power project since the commissioning of the Tarbela Dam way back in 1976,” said Brig Mushtaq, General Manager Hydel Projects, North.

Though the 184-mw Chashma Power Project came online in February 2001, it was much small when compared with the GBHP.

“It was not only the power generation but constructing the biggest channel of Pakistan — 56,000 cusecs — to feed the project was in itself an achievement. Before this, the country’s largest canal was Chashma-Jehlum Link canal that is only of 21,000 cusecs capacity.”