In yet another significant move towards implementation of the project, the first unit of Jinnah Hydropower Project has been put on trial commission this week. The test-run would continue for 15 days. The 96-MW Jinnah Hydropower Project – a run-of-the-river scheme – is located on River Indus adjacent to Jinnah Barrage in Mianwali district. The overall completion of the project is expected by the mid of this year. On completion, the project will generate about 688 million units electricity annually, thus, yielding an estimated benefit of Rs6 billion per annum.
Jinnah Hydropower Project is a component of least-cost energy generation plan being implemented by WAPDA on priority. The objective of the plan is to improve the ratio of low-cost hydel electricity in the national grid, so as to stabilise the overall tariff in the system. It is pertinent to mention that the share of hydel energy in overall energy mix is almost 32 per cent. It is also worth mentioning that average tariff for hydel electricity is Rs1.54 per unit against the overall average tariff of about Rs9 per unit. WAPDA is implementing several projects to harness the vital resource of hydropower in the country. As many as seven projects with cumulative capacity of about 1,500 MW are under construction, out of those five projects of 400 MW will be completed in 2012. In addition, the 4500 MW-Diamer Basha dam and the 84 MW-Kurram Tangi dam have also been initiated. Besides, the 1,410 MW-Tarbela 4th extension and the 7,100 MW-Bunji Hydropower project will soon be available for construction, as detailed engineering designs of the two projects are almost complete. Detailed engineering design of the 4,320 MW-Dasu Hydropower project is also in progress, while the consultancy contract for yet another important project i.e. the 740 MW-Munda dam will be awarded next month.
