ISLAMABAD, March 22: Three multi-billion rupee water projects, including Gomal Zam Dam, are facing security problems that could cause delay in their scheduled commissioning. Informed sources told Dawn here on Monday that the security situation at the Gomal Zam Dam, Mirani Dam and Kachhi Canal Project had been causing considerable delay for the last many months, with their sponsoring agency — the Water and Power Development Authority — urging higher authorities to rescue it so that all three much-publicised projects could be commissioned on time.
Wapda officials have informed the President and Prime Minister’s Secretariats that the Chinese companies have not yet resumed work at the Gomal Zam Dam and they are seeking increased security steps to return to Pakistan. M/s China National Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Corporation and Hanbiw Power Engineering Company stopped work on Oct 9, 2004, at the site due to kidnapping and killing of one Chinese engineer. Another Chinese engineer was also injured in the incident. The sources said that relending of loan at 11 per cent high interest rate was also pending with the Finance Division. The issue of early resumption of work was raised with the Chinese government but so far the situation had remained the same.
The dam is being built on the Gomal river in South Waziristan Agency, West of Tank, and D.I. Khan district of the NWFP for which Abdu Dhabi Fund for Development was providing considerable funds. The sources said that the project which was started on July 15, 2002, was not likely to be commissioned on schedule by July 30, 2006, if security issues were not sorted out by the government.
The sources said that Wapda officials had informed higher authorities that land-mines laid by subversive elements in Mazari tribal areas in district Rajanpur were still to be cleared to fully resume the work at Kachhi Canal project being built at a cost of Rs31.2 billion.
The Commandant of Border Military Police has asked for arranging the personnel of Engineering Corps of the Army for clearing the land-mines. The project was started in October 2002 and should have been completed by June 2007. The third project facing delay was Rs5.8 billion Mirani dam being built in Balochistan province, 40 kilometres south west of the Turbat district on the River Dasht