The hydel generation capacity of Tarbela dam will further enhance to 4,888 MW with completion of 1410 MW 4th extension hydropower project.
Officials sources told APP Friday that Tarbela would be the largest water reservoir in term of hydel generation after completion of the extension project while Mangla has become the largest water storage reservoir.
They said that Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) had already awarded civil works contract worth Rs 26.053 billion with Chinese firm Sinohydro for civil works of the 1410MW Tarbela 4th extension hydropower project.
The sources said the World Bank had also agreed to provide $ 840 million loan for the project. They said the project would take three and half years for commissioning at estimated cost of $928 million. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has already inaugurated the 4th extension project.
The project will increase the hydropower generation capacity of Tarbela Hydel Power Station to 4,888 MW after installation of three units of 1410 MW. On completion, the project will add about 3.84 billion units low-cost electricity to the national grid per annum. Annual benefits of the project have been estimated at about Rs.30.7 billion. The sources said that the project would pay back its cost in just three years.
They said the project would also be instrumental in saving foreign exchange on import of almost one million ton of furnace oil annually, required for the equivalent generation of electricity from thermal sources. The project will also provide a cushion to undertake rehabilitation and up-gradation of the existing Tarbela Power House during the lean period.
The Tarbela 4th extension hydropower project is a part of least-cost power generation strategy of the federal government being implemented by WAPDA on priority. This strategy not only aims at adding a sizeable quantum of electricity to the national grid but also improving the share of low-cost hydel electricity in the overall system for reducing the power tariff.
