ISLAMABAD, Jan 18: Water and Power Minister Liaqaut Ali Jatoi on Wednesday said that the feasibility study of Bhasha dam was being reviewed aimed at reducing its height by 10 metres and storage capacity by one million acre feet (MAF) water.

Addressing a news conference, he said the royalty of the Bhasha dam would go to the NWFP and added that the size of the amount was yet to be calculated.

In reply to a question, the minister said the proposed reduction in the height of Bhasha dam would decrease its storage capacity to 6.34MAF.

He said that Bhasha dam was best option among the proposed projects because of minimum human displacement, land submergence and its highest power production capacity.

About 24,000 people would be displaced and at least 1,600 acres of arid land submerged because of the project. With the power production capacity of 4,500mw, Bhasha would be the largest power plant in the country, he said.

Mr Jatoi said that President General Pervez Musharraf had respected the will of the people of Sindh and NWFP by announcing the construction of the Bhasha dam which, he added, would be followed by efforts for addressing reservations over and objections to the Kalabagh dam.

Asked if he would join President Musharraf in campaign for Kalabagh dam, he said if prevailing reservations were removed and guarantees provided to satisfy Sindh he would accompany the president.

Answering a question about guarantees, he said these had to be decided by the federation and the four units.

The minister said he had presented his viewpoint to the president and the prime minister on the construction of Kalabagh dam and was satisfied that a decision had been taken that would strengthen the federation, federating units and inter-provincial harmony.

He said the issue of financing the project would be decided on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s return from his visit to the United States, but expressed the confidence that funds would not be a problem.

Responding a question as to how the project was being launched next month when the designing was still in progress and feasibility study was under review, he said construction of roads would start in February.