Even as Pakistan-US cooperation on anti-terrorism programs is withering, the United States is considering backing the construction of a giant, $12 billion dam in Pakistan that would be the largest civilian aid project the U.S. has undertaken here in decades, reported McClatchy Newspapers.
Supporters of a U.S. role in the project say American participation would mend the United States’ tattered image, going a long way toward quieting widespread anti-Americanism amid criticism that the U.S. lavishes money on Pakistan’s military while doing little for the civilian population.
Approval of the project still faces many hurdles. India objects to the dam because it would be in Kashmir, an area that India also claims. The project also is likely to face opposition from Pakistan’s critics in the U.S. Congress, who’ve called for all aid to be cut off after Osama bin Laden was found hiding in northern Pakistan earlier this year. Recent Pakistani actions, including allegations this week that Pakistan had allowed Chinese military experts to inspect the wreckage of an American stealth helicopter that crashed in the bin Laden compound, are likely to inflame such criticism.
Still, proponents of U.S. aid for the project recall that the United States was popular in Pakistan in the 1960s and ’70s, when Washington backed the construction of two enormous dams, Tarbela and Mangla.
“Getting involved in a long-term project like this is very compelling for us,” said a senior U.S. official who asked not to be identified because no final decision on the project has been made. “This would be a huge demonstration of our commitment to Pakistan and our faith in the country’s future.”
The Diamer Basha dam would provide enough power to overcome Pakistan’s crippling electricity shortage. Proponents of the project also claim that its water storage capacity, in a 50-mile-long lake that would be created behind the dam, would be so great that it would have averted last year’s devastating floods, which deluged a fifth of the country, pushed 20 million people out of their homes and caused an estimated $10 billion in damage.
Shakil Durrani, the chairman of Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority, said the dam had received Pakistani government approval and that he was confident of American support for the project, after talks with U.S. officials. The authority plans to develop a shortlist of contractors for the massive construction project at the end of this year.
“If we had a reservoir the size of Diamer Basha, the floods last summer would not have occurred,” Durrani said. “This would be the largest project ever undertaken in Pakistan. It is our top priority.”
The U.S. would provide only a fraction of the $12 billion needed to complete the project.
