ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has identified 324 potential sites for generating 480MW hydro electricity which will partially meet the growing power demands across the country.
Official sources told Dawn on Friday that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had agreed to offer Rs4 billion (80 per cent new financing) to help undertake a new hydel power project in Punjab.
The bank wants that the project to be executed by national and multinational contractors through national and international competitive bidding and “contracts” under the procurement guidelines of the bank.
The project site is located at Upper Chenab Canal (main line power) about 6km from the Lahore-Faisalabad road along Lahore-Peshawar Motorway. It is accessible from the Karachi Port through a good road network of highways.
The implementation time of the project is about 57 months, including pre-construction time, land acquisition, site installation, mobilisation and de-mobilisation, testing and commissioning.
The power generated by the project, which will also have five sub-projects, will be sold to distribution companies (Gepco, Lesco and Mepco) or the National Transmission and Distribution Company.
The project is also expected to provide electricity to poor and vulnerable consumers (hospitals, schools and other social utilities) on reduced tariffs.
The ADB had been informed that Punjab has a hydel potential of 5,895MW along rivers and existing canal falls and barrages with medium and small heads.
But the bank says that construction of hydropower projects is a specialised job which involves experts of various engineering disciplines and technologies. And hydro turbines, generators, governors and associated automised controls will have to be imported for such projects because these are not manufactured locally.
Testing and commissioning of plants has to be done by foreign experts and representatives of foreign manufacturers. This multi-disciplinary activity will encourage the local industry to come forward and produce equipment for small hydro power projects.
The ADB assistance will also include strengthening of project management unit during construction stage, cost of panel of experts and other miscellaneous costs.
Sources said the energy demand was increasing at an annual rate of 8 to 10 per cent and Pakistan was still a net importer of energy and oil constitutes about 30 per cent of imports. The gap between demand and supply in the past was met through thermal power projects based on costly imported fuel.
This situation disturbed the hydel-thermal mix ratio from 65:35 to 35:65 which resulted
into an unbearable increase in electricity tariff, besides increasing dependence on imported fuels for energy needs of the country.
The prime objective of the project, the sources said, was to develop the power potential of less than 50MW installed capacity at five sub-projects on sustainable basis and thus provide cheaper and environment-friendly power. These sub-projects will be built at Marala, Chinwali and Deg Outfall along UCC, off-taking from Malara Barrage on River Chenab, Okara, along LBDC off-taking from Balloki Barrage on River Ravi and Pakpattan, along Pakpattan canal off-taking from Sulemanki Barrage on River Sutluj.
