Construction work likely to be initiated soon
Amraiz Khan
Lahore
In what can be termed a significant development towards construction of Diamer Basha Dam, the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) on Wednesday received bids for construction of Dam Part of the Project here at WAPDA House. As many as two Joint Ventures (JVs), comprising one foreign and one local firm each, submitted their technical and financial bids for the purpose.
These JVs include China Gezhouba Group Company – GRC JV and Power Construction Corporation of China – FWO JV. Following submission of the bids, the technical bids were publically opened by the Bid Opening Committee in presence of the representatives of the firms included in the JVs. With opening of the technical bids, the process of their evaluation has commenced. The technical bids, opened on Wednesday, will be evaluated in accordance with the Bidding Documents and the relevant Procurement Rules of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC). Thereafter, the financial bids of the technically responsive bidders will be opened.
Pursuance to the judgment of the honourable Supreme Court and priority of the Federal Government, WAPDA has been implementing Diamer Basha Dam and Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project. Construction work on Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project started in May this year, while work on Diamer Basha Dam is likely to be initiated soon. Construction of Diamer Basha Dam Project has been divided into two parts; the Dam Part and the Power Generation Facilities.
Diamer Basha Dam will be constructed across River Indus about 40 kilometers downstream of Chillas Town. It is a multipurpose Project aims at water storage, flood mitigation and power generation. The Project will have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 million acre feet (MAF) and installed power generation capacity of 4500 megawatt (MW).
