News
Saturday, September 04, 2010
WAPDA to construct 740-MW Munda Dam on priority basis* Department’s media director says water reservoir will be built on Swat River
Staff Report
LAHORE: In the wake of the recent floods that played havoc in the country, especially in Nowshera and Charsadda districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has decided to construct Munda Dam on the Swat River on a priority basis.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by WAPDA Chairman Shakil Durrani, which was held at the WAPDA House on Friday. WAPDA Media Director Rana Sajjad told Daily Times that WAPDA had approved the invitation of an expression of interest (EOI) for consultancy services for a detailed engineering design and preparation of tender documents for the project. He said that the Munda Dam had been proposed to be constructed on the Swat River around five kilometres upstream of the Munda Headworks in Mohmand Agency of FATA. It would be a multi-purpose project with the objective to control floods, ensure availability of irrigation water and provide low-cost hydel electricity, he said. It is pertinent to mention here that the Munda Dam’s feasibility study had been conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) around 10 years ago.
Donor agencies as well as financial institutions had been ready to finance the project. The dam, after its completion, would store 1.29 million acre feet of water and irrigate more than 15,000 acres of land. In addition, the project would also generate 740MW hydropower, thus, contributing 2,400 million units of cheap electricity to the national grid.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk