LAHORE: Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman Zafar Mahmood said on Thursday the first unit of 969MW-Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project will be commissioned in June 2017, while the other three units will also get on line one by one till December 2017.

He expressed these views during his visit to the project, said a press release.

The chairman, expressing satisfaction over the pace of the project’s construction work observed the progress on most of its components was ahead of the revised schedule.

He directed the project authorities, consultants and contractors to continue working with the same level of commitment to complete the strategically important project during 2017.

Mr Mahmood visited the dam site at Nauseri, river crossing at Majohi and power house at Chattar Klas to witness the construction activities going on there. He also attended the breakthrough ceremony of the right tunnel.

Two sections of the right tunnel – one drilled at the dam site and the other at power house – were connected with amazing precision on January 9, six days ahead of the prescribed date of January 15.

Performing the connectivity of the two sections, the chairman said Neelum Jhelum project was a monument of the Pak-China friendship towards development of hydro power in Pakistan.

During the visit, the chairman was briefed that overall progress on the project stood at 76 percent. Out of 68 kilometers long tunnels, 59 kilometers had so far been drilled, while the dam was 74pc complete, he was told.

The powerhouse and the switch yard of the project are scheduled to be completed in November this year. On its completion, NJHP will contribute 5.15 billion units of electricity every year to the national grid.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2016