PESHAWAR, Jan 4: State Minister of Water and Power Engineer Amir Muqam on Wednesday said the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) had reached an agreement with China to restart work on Gomal Zam dam by March. “Work on the multi-billion project will be resumed in March and is likely to be completed by year 2009,” Mr Muqam said, while speaking at the oath-taking ceremony of the Media Marketing Association, Peshawar, here at the press club.

Work on the reservoir was suspended after the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers by militants in South Waziristan in October 2004. One engineer was killed in rescue operation conducted by army commandos.

The state minister said he would defend his province and do what was in the best interest of the Frontier province.

He said President Gen Musharraf was not only insisting on the construction of the Kalabagh dam, but also had a vision to construct more reservoirs in the country in next 20 years.

Pakistan was an agricultural country and dams and water reservoirs were the need of the future, he said. Tarbela dam would complete its life in the year 2020, he added.

After the construction of Tarbela Dam in 1976, no other dam had been constructed whereas cheap electricity and water was the need for economic stability in near future, Mr Muqam said.

“We can generate low-cost electricity with water and for this, we need to build dams wherever there is potential,” Mr Muqam maintained.

He said the government had planned to initiate a project worth Rs17 billion in Tangi (Charsadda). The work on Munda dam would be started soon, which would generate 745mw power, Mr Muqam said.

“We are ready to construct Basha dam to produce low-cost electricity, but whatever is not in the interest of the province will not be acceptable. I will defend the interest of my province,” Mr Muqam said, adding that some elements were misinforming people that Frontier province would submerge if the Kalabagh dam was constructed.

The prime minister, according to Engineer Muqam, had suggested to the NWFP government to get its own experts involved to see the feasibility of the Kalabagh dam.

Later, talking to journalists, the state minister criticized the Awami National Party (ANP) for opposing the construction of Kalabagh dam, saying that the party had adopted same stand during the creation of Pakistan.

He said President Musharraf would visit the NWFP this month to take the provincial government and the masses into confidence on the dam issue.

The federal government had invited the opposing parties to come forward for an open debate on water reservoirs and adopt a realistic approach.

The state minister administer oath to the elected cabinet members of the Media Marketing Association, including president Masood Khan, vice-president Syed Tasawar Shah, general secretary Shehzad Amjad Shinwari, finance secretary Fazl-i-Haq, press secretary Mohammad Kaleem Abbasi and eight other members of the executive council of the association.