LAHORE - Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has awarded $241.1 million contract for electro-mechanical (E&M) works of the 1530 MW-Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project to a joint venture comprising Harbin Electric International Company and Harbin Electric Machinery Company (HEIC-HEMC) through an international bidding.
The ceremony for signing of the contract was held on Friday at WAPDA House, Lahore. The E&M contract was signed by Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project Director Muhammad Azam Joya and HEIC-HEMC Vice President Zhang Yu Long on behalf of their organisations. WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen (r) Muzammil Hussain, WAPDA Member Finance Naveed Asghar, Member Water Abdul Zahir Khan Durrani, Managing Director (Administration) Khalid Saleem, WAPDA Secretary Fakharuzzaman Ali Cheema, general managers concerned and representatives of the consultants also attended the ceremony. WAPDA has already awarded contract for civil works of the project in May.
Speaking on the occasion, the chairman said that Tarbela 5th Extension is yet another WAPDA project to meet energy needs of the country with low-cost and environment-friendly hydel electricity, adding that WAPDA is committed to complete this vital project in accordance with the timelines. Referring to the WAPDA’s strategy for improving water situation and increasing share of hydel electricity in the national grid, he said that WAPDA is constructing 10 mega projects in water and hydropower sectors to meet rapidly increasing requirements of water and electricity in the country. These projects are scheduled to be completed from 2023 to 2028-29. In addition to enhancing gross water storage capacity by 11.7 million acre feet (MAF), WAPDA projects will also double the installed hydel power generation capacity from 9406 MW to 20591 MW. Likewise, WAPDA’s contribution of green and clean hydel electricity to the national gird will also increase from the existing 37 billion units to more than 81 billion units per annum.
Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project is being constructed on Tunnel No. 5 of Tarbela Dam with approved PC-I of $807 million. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) of World Bank is providing $390 million, while Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to the tune of $300 million. Cumulative generation capacity of the project stands at 1530 MW with three generating units of 510 MW each. The project, scheduled to start electricity generation by mid-2024, will provide 1.347 billion units of low-cost hydel electricity to the national grid on the average every year. With completion of Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project, installed capacity at Tarbela Dam will rise from 4888 MW to 6418MW.