WAPDA prepares to divert river Swat for Mohmand Dam construction

February 13, 2024 (MLN): The Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA) is poised to divert River Swat in April this year at the under-construction Mohmand Dam, as the diversion system of the project is steadily heading towards completion in accordance with the timelines.

Chairman WAPDA Engr Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani (Retd) visited  Mohmand Dam, being constructed across River Swat in Mohmand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

He visited in detail the construction sites of the spillway, the diversion tunnels and the powerhouse to review construction activities going on there. Advisor (Projects) WAPDA, GM and PD Mohmand Dam Project and the consultants and the contractors were also present during the visit.

Later, the Chairman also presided over a progress review meeting at the project office. At present, construction work is continuing on 12 sites.

The project team made a detailed briefing about the diversion scheme, concreting and slope stabilization at the spillway, slope excavation and support works at the powerhouse, excavation at the irrigation tunnels, construction of structures across the irrigation canals and finishing works at the permanent access roads located on both right and left banks of the river.

The Chairman was briefed that the offices and the employees have been permanently shifted to the newly constructed facilities in the project area. A few completed buildings will also be taken over and the remaining staff will be shifted there accordingly.

Emphasizing the need for timely completion of Mohmand Dam, the Chairman urged the contractors to expedite the activities relating to quarry development for the Dam. He directed the deployment of additional resources for the purpose.

Mohmand Dam is a multipurpose project, which will store water for agriculture, control floods, supply water to Peshawar for urban use and generate green, clean and economically affordable hydel electricity.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2026. Mohmand Dam will store 1.29 MAF of water to irrigate 18,237 acres of new land in Mohmand and Charsadda and supplement irrigation supplies to 160,000 acres of existing land.

The project has an installed power capacity of 800 MW with an annual energy generation of 2.86 billion units of electricity. It will also provide 300 million gallons of water per day to Peshawar for drinking purposes. Annual benefits of the project are estimated at Rs51.6bn.

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