BESHAM, Sept 22: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has accelerated construction of small hydropower projects and work on Khan Khwar, Allai Khwar and Dubair Khwar schemes is continuing in full swing. The projects, being executed in Shangla, Batgram and Kohistan districts will generate 323 megawatts when completed.

The projects are of run-of-the-river type and water of three tributaries is being diverted to river Indus through tunnels to generate power.

Khan Khwar and Dubair Khwar projects are being executed by Chinese company Sino Hydro and Allai Khwar by another Chinese firm, which won the contracts in open bidding.

General Manger, Northern Areas, Wapda, Mohammad Zareen, briefing newsmen who visited the projects, said the authority was pursuing hydropower projects vigorously to ensure supply of cheaper energy to people as thermal energy was costly.

In reply to a question, he said: “Though we cannot meet the country’s future requirements of energy through such small projects, Wapda has decided to speed up work on those to avoid any big gap between demand and supply of energy in view of the fast-expanding economy of the country.”

“Ultimately we will have to go for big dams to meet our energy requirements, yet it is advisable to build such small projects which can contribute to national grid,” he said.

The projects located in far-flung mountainous areas would also have a positive socio-economic impact on the local populace of around 400,000 as local people are working on the schemes and Wapda is also building roads in the areas.

Though the main objective of constructing the roads is to take machinery and material to the sites of the projects, these will benefit people of the area which lacked the facility earlier.

For reaching Allai Khwar, a 37km-long road is being built, the contract for which has been given to the National Logistics Cell.

A road is also being built to reach the Khan Khwar project site. About half of the work on the road has been completed. Work on a permanent tunnel of the project measuring 4,540 metres and two diversion tunnels is also in progress.

Work on the Khan Khwar project was started in January and it would be executed at a cost of Rs2 billion. On completion in 2008, it will produce 72MW.

The Allai Khwar project is located in Batgram with the main tunnel of 2,366m and power generation capacity of 121MW. —APP