LAHORE, Oct 13: Wapda Chairman Tariq Hameed on Thursday claimed that the entire power transmission system in the NWFP, Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas will be repaired.

He gave this assurance while speaking at a press conference at the Wapda House. A power restoration plan for the quake-hit areas was under way which would cost Rs300 million according to the initial estimates, he added.

Sever jolts had damaged 10 grid stations, out of which seven had already been restored, Mr Hameed said and added the remaining three would be energized within the next 48 hours, after which rehabilitation of transmission lines would start.

Wapda teams were present in different areas and could start rehabilitation work as soon as roads were cleared there, he said.

The authority has also established a crisis management centre at Islamabad for coordination and monitoring of rehabilitation work.

The chairman said manpower and construction material had already been sent to the quake-hit areas.

Responding to a question about the safety of the ongoing power projects in the Northern Areas, he said all of them were safe. About any possible damage to Bhasha dam site, the chairman said so far access road was not clear and he had no information about that.

He said the dams’ safety was a priority with the authority and its Dam Safety Organization was responsible for the overall maintenance of the mega structures.

Tarbela and Mangla dams were designed to absorb even heavier jolts than those received last Saturday, he said. The Accelerograph (earthquake-measuring instrument) installed at Tarbela recorded a maximum acceleration of 0.16g at the top of the dam, which was less than the design parameter. In 1996, the dam had received a jolt of 0.27g and did not suffer any damage. Mangla Dam Accelerograph recorded an acceleration of 0.1g and all the structures had been found safe, he added.

He said more than 5,000 instruments had been installed at these structures at the time of their construction and they recorded data about the movement, stresses, pressures and seepage down to the dams’ foundations. These statistics were being continuously monitored, he said.

Reservoir surveys had also been carried out which were found satisfactory, he said.

A Chinese Survey engineer, working at Allai Khwar project — one of the three high-head projects near Besham — also expired in the tremors after which the remaining 20 Chinese engineers were airlifted. But, at least 40 other Chinese engineers were still present at the Dubair Khwar and Khan Khwar projects.