AN international consortium has reportedly offered to build two dams in northern areas of Pakistan at a huge investment of $26 billion. It proposes to construct them in just ten years and on completion will have a combined capacity to produce 22,000 MW of electricity and storage capacity of 35 acre feet of water.
The details of the proposal shared with media by the local partner of the consortium are very attractive and must be considered by the relevant authorities on a priority basis. Pakistan, at the moment, is faced with extreme financing problems including those for the ongoing projects but the Consortium wants to construct Katzarah and the other dam on ‘build, own and operate’ basis with no financial burden on the Pakistan Government. The storage and electricity generation capacities of the dams would be double than the total capacity of all dams in Pakistan and generation cost would be just Rs. 3 per unit which means the country would be in a position to reduce the power tariff significantly for all consumers. Pakistan is fast losing storage capacity of existing dams due to silting (Tarbela has already lost half of its storage capacity because of sedimentation) and Katzarah dam would take care of the silting problem and as a result life span of all existing and future reservoirs on the Indus would increase. It would also address the water shortage problems as this dam would be regularly topping up all dams that are located downstream Indus. On the face of it, the offer of the Consortium is beneficial for Pakistan as it addresses all the problems and hurdles that prevent initiation of work on major hydro-electric projects. Feasibility study of one dam is complete which means work can be initiated without much delay while feasibility of the other dam would take a few months. Apart from their far-reaching significance for the economy of Pakistan in the long run by ensuring increased availability of irrigation water and energy at affordable costs, the two projects would also generate a lot of economic activity and create jobs during the construction phase. There is every reason to respond positively if the said consortium was reliable and the proposals were technically feasible.
