HARIPUR: Wapda chairman retired Lt-Gen Muzammil Hussain has said the 1530MW Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project (T5) will help fulfil the country’s growing energy needs.

He said this during a visit to the site of the project, whose civil works contract was awarded last week.

The Wapda chairman reviewed arrangements for the start of work slated for next July.

He said T5 was one of the 10 mega projects being executed by Wapda in the country to double hydropower production.

Retired Lt-Gen Muzammil said cheap electricity would reduce the country’s reliance on imported expensive fuel.

Wapda chief reviews arrangements for start of work

He ordered the project’s completion on time with no compromise on the quality of work.

The Wapda chairman visited Tunnel No 5 and powerhouse and switchyard sites and learned about the contractor’s mobilisation and project timelines.

Wapda member (water) Abdul Zahir Khan Durrani, member (power) Jamil Akhtar, adviser Nasir Hanif, project management, and representatives of the consultants accompanied the chairman.

The officials said T5 was being constructed on Tunnel No 5 of Tarbela Dam with the approved PC-I of $807 million.

They said the World Bank was providing $390 million, while the funding of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank totalled $300 million.

The officials said the continuous support by international financial institutions for hydropower projects showed their trust in the Wapda’s financial strength.

FOUR KILLED: Four people were killed and seven injured in separate incidents here, the police said on Tuesday.

The Beer police said villagers Mohammad Asif and Waseem Bahadur scuffled over a dispute but it was resolved by a jirga.

The two came across each other on Tuesday morning. Mohammad Asif fired at Waseem Bahadur killing him on the spot.

The deceased’s family members held the gunman before killing him.

Meanwhile, the Khanpur police said Mushtaq of Choee village, a watchman at the Government High School for Boys, was found to be hanging from a ceiling fan on campus on Tuesday.

The police said Mushtaq’s family had old enmity in the village.

They said the postmortem would reveal the cause of death and its report was awaited.

The police said the deceased’s body was spotted by his son at sehar time.

Meanwhile, a van hit a truck head-onnear Baka village on GT Road leaving its driver dead and a passenger critically injured.

The police identified the deceased as Arshad of Darband village in Mansehra and the injured as Shahzad Shah.

Also in the day, six people were injured in motorcycle accidents in the city.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2021