ISLAMABAD, July 22: The government has approached international donor agencies to provide sizable funding for the 4,500 megawatt Diamer-Basha dam, planned to be built at a cost of $6.4 billion.
Sources told Dawn on Friday that the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank had indicated their readiness to meet the major cost of the project.
The Water and Power Development Authority has worked out the average annual irrigation benefit from the project at $273.03 million. In its latest estimates, Wapda informed the Planning Commission that water available from the proposed dam would provide assured canal supplies and consequent increase in crop yields.
It estimated that 1601.6 acres of agricultural land would be affected by the construction of the dam.
Wapda expressed fears about various ‘governance problems’ which, it said, needed to be sorted out before the construction of the dam. The issues are: dislocation of 24,350 people, 2,833 houses to be submerged in water, 32 villages to be affected, 31,780 acres to come under the reservoir and dam, upgradation of 323km and relocation of 100km of the Korakoram Highway.
In order to resolve these issues, Wapda believes, nine model villages will have to be established for the affected people over 5,500 acres.
Wapda experts have estimated the amount required for the land acquisition and resettlement at Rs28 billion.
Officials of Wapda have informed the higher authorities that there are a number of commercial properties in the reservoir area. They said major investment had been made in hotels in the area and they needed to be assessed and compensated for. They said 402 shops, 12 service stations, 75 wooden cabin shops, 19 driver hotels, four flour milling machines, seven petrol pumps, six classified hotels and nine furniture workshops would be submerged.
