GILGIT: The Water and Power Dev­e­lopment Auth­ority is set to start RCC work on the Diamer-Bha­sha dam early next year, according to a statement released on Tuesday.

“The under-construction Diamer-Bhasha Dam project is all set to achieve yet another milestone as roller-compact-concrete (RCC) work of the main dam will commence in early 2026 after completion of trials and excavation work on abutment and pit (foundation) by the end of this year,” the statement said.

On Tuesday, Wapda Chairman retired Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed visited the site, which is 40 kilometres downstream from Chilas, Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Wapda chief revie­wed construction activities at the crushing plant, div­ersion tunnel, dam pit and abutments, the RCC trial section area and the conveyor belt tunnel, acco­rding to the statement.

Gen Saeed advised the contractors to deploy additional resources for accelerating construction work so that targets could be achieved in time. 

He urged the Wapda te­­a­m and consultants to ad­­opt a “proactive appr­o­a­­ch” for removing bottlene­cks that could delay com­p­l­etion of the project in time.

Security arrangements for the project were also discussed during the visit.

Gen Saeed also visited Chilas Cadet College, built by Wapda at a cost of Rs 2.1 billion as part of its “corporate social responsibility”.

Wapda has spent Rs 78.5bn for resettlement of the people displaced by the project and on execution of uplift schemes in health, education and upgradation of infr­a­structure in the region.

The Diamer-Bhasha dam, with a height of 272 metres, is the highest RCC dam in the world.

It will have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 MAF and irrigate 1.23 million acres of land.

With an installed power generation capacity of 4,500 megawatt, the project will provide 18 billion units of green, clean and the most affordable electricity to the national grid every year.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2025