Diamer-Bhasha Dam: WAPDA signs Rs 133.18 billion contract with Power China-IKAN for gates and steel works

WAPDA has signed a Rs 133.18 billion contract with the Power China-IKAN Joint Venture for the hydro-mechanical works of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam, Business Recorder reported on 25 October. Dawn also carried the signing.

What the contract (HM-1) covers

• Making, supplying and installing the gates and steel structures that regulate water flows at the dam.
• Equipment at the flushing tunnels on both banks, the power intakes and the outlets.
• Steel lining, hoisting and pumping systems, and the related electrical works.

Diamer-Bhasha's chief engineer and project director Arif Ali signed for WAPDA and Ling Jianke for the joint venture at WAPDA House in Lahore, in the presence of WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed (retd) and a delegation led by the chairman of Power China International Group.

The dam in numbers

The dollar figure uses the interbank rate on our dollar rate page and the currency converter; the contract itself is in rupees. Neither report gave a completion date for HM-1 or for the dam.

Why it matters

Hydro-mechanical works are what turn a concrete wall into a working dam: without the gates and intakes, the reservoir cannot be filled or released on schedule. The government calls Diamer-Bhasha a priority for water, food and energy security, and storage is the point of the project.

Cost overruns are the risk to watch. A day earlier we reported that the Mohmand Dam's cost has more than doubled to Rs 666 billion with completion years late. Power from new hydel plants is cheaper to run than imported fuel, which over time feeds into what you pay per unit; check your own bill with the electricity bill calculator.