Govt acquires 32,073 acres of land for Diamer-Basha Dam project

ISLAMABAD: The government has so far acquired 32,073 acres of land for the Diamer-Basha Dam project, which is expected to be completed by April 2029 and would meet the growing water and power needs of the country.

The acquired land is around 90 per cent of the total required 35,924 acres of land for the project.

The official information revealed that the total estimated cost of the Diamer-Basha Dam project is Rs1.406 billion, including the PC-I (acquisition of land and resettlement Rs1.75 billion, The PC-I (dam part Rs4.79 billion, while the cost for PC-I (power generation facilities yet to be approved) is Rs7.51 billion.

Similarly, the amount spent by the previous governments on the dam stood at Rs8.668 billion under the acquisition of land and resettlement (AL&R) since 2009/10, while the present government has spent Rs3.027 billion under AL&R and Rs5.155 billion under the dam part.

The total amount of Rs11.60 billion has been spent under AL&R and Rs5.155 billion under the dam’s part.

The information also revealed that the Supreme Court of Pakistan is the custodian of the Dam Fund. The total amount of the funds collected for the project so far is Rs12.934 billion up to July 15, 2021.

Moreover, thanks to the present government, which is giving priority to the completion of mega power projects and has earmarked Rs15.500 billion for the dam part and Rs7 billion for AL&R during the fiscal year 2020/21.

The PC-I (dam part) was approved at $1=Rs105.30; however, the cost will be updated during the revision of the PC-I in accordance with the guidelines of the Planning Commission’s manual for development projects.

As per the construction plan, the consultants for main works have commenced their services from October last year, while the contractor for the main dam works have been mobilised at the site after signing the contract agreement with the commencement date as of August 7, 2020.

As per the financing plan, the acquisition of land and resettlement is being financed by the government of Pakistan as Rs10.689 billion has been released against the PC-I (AL&R), amounting to Rs175,436 million.

Similarly, the financing plan for the dam’s part includes Rs233,686 million under the government share, Rs144,000 million under commercial financing and Rs100,000 million under the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) equity.

The financing plan of the power generation facilities includes Rs76,000 million under the Wapda equity, Rs429,000 million under the commercial financing and Rs246,000 million under the integrated water flow model demand calculator (IDC), which would be recovered through tariff.

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