ISLAMABAD: The construction of $7 billion Dasu hydropower project on the Indus River is expected to start this year and will be completed in two stages and four phases by 2037 with total capacity of 4,320 megawatts, says a new project report prepared by Wapda and published by the World Bank.

The report says that the first phase will be comprised of installation of the full dam and three of the planned 12 turbines, while phase two, three and four will involve the installation of three more turbines in each phase.

For construction purpose, the four phases have been grouped into two stages. Under stage-1, the first phase is planned to commence operation in 2019 and the second phase in 2022.

Timing of the start of operation of the second and fourth phases are still uncertain, the third phase is anticipated to commence in 2031 while the fourth phase by 2037.

Dasu hydropower is a complex and challenging project requiring comprehensive social safeguard measures to address adverse social impacts in a mountainous “tribal” context, points out the report.

The project investment to the tune of $7 billion over 20 years will lead to further economic and industrial investment of the region in the future.

Relocation cost

A total of 4,643 hectares will be required for various project components such as dam axis, reservoir area, relocation of inundated Karakorum Highway, campsites and housing areas for operation and maintenance staff of the project and access road.

As a result, 767 households from 34 villages will require relocation. The adverse impacts of the project have been documented comprehensively covering all social aspects of life and livelihoods of the affected communities up and downstream of the Dasu dam and to develop appropriate mitigation measures.

The report says that 90pc of the households have opted for relocation to sites of their own choices in higher elevations where the community owns land and no costs will be required.

An amount of $398.74 million will be required for relocation of project affected persons. This process consists of 10 separate components, including direct costs for land acquisition and other assets such as structures, crops and trees.

According to the report, the construction of Dasu project will require a huge number of migrant labourers to overcome the shortfall in the local labour market in Dasu with a population of 5,000.

The demand for construction workers will peak to around 3,000 daily, bringing significant changes in the lives and livelihoods of the mountain people of Dasu.

The construction work, with the promise for more development in the region in future, will attract thousands more new in-migrants turning this remote small place into a “boomtown” with influx of construction workers and in-migrants.

These will likely lead to potential negative socio-cultural impacts, including conflicts between the local residents and the in-migrant groups, points out the report.

The report says that the Social and Resettlement Management Plan (SRMP) document prepared for the Dasu hydropower project meets international practices, setting new standards for hydropower projects in Pakistan and globally.