ISLAMABAD: The members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Planning and Development will arrive in Azad Kashmir’s capital Muzaffarabad on April 7 on a two-day visit to review “overall physical progress” of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP).

The members of the committee, headed by Abdul Majeed Khan of the PML-N, will visit the site of the project near Muzaffarabad and receive a briefing on “steps taken to make the first unit of the NJHP operational by mid-2016”, according to the agenda for the panel’s visit issued by the National Assembly secretariat.

The 969MW project is reported to have been facing delay because of shortage of funds. Officials of the Ministry of Water and Power associated with the project have been expressing fear that the chances of its completion by the end of the next year are slim.

Know more: Neelum-Jhelum project may be further delayed, faces Rs50bn shortage

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, during a visit to the project site soon after assuming the office in June 2013, had directed the officials and departments concerned to complete the project by the end of 2015. In line with his wishes, a $68 million plan was worked out and submitted to the government for speedy completion of the project at a time when it was facing cash constraints.

But the release of the funds took almost one year.

NJHP Managing Director retired General Mohammad Zubair is reported to have said a few months ago that the contractors had expressed their inability to accelerate work to make the project operational this year because of time already lost.

He had warned that the project had reached a physical stage where haste could lead to compromises on engineering codes and principles, raising the risk of a catastrophe.

The Neelum-Jhelum Hy­dr­o­power Company’s board of directors, after discussing the matter with the contractors, are reported to have expressed the opinion that early completion was not possible at this stage.

The project has achieved almost 70 per cent physical progress and its most crucial component -- tunnel excavation — 80 pc at a cost of Rs160bn so far.

The work on the Rs274.882 billion project began on Jan 30, 2008 with the estimated deadline of completion in November 2016.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2015

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