ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan is likely to perform ground-breaking of much-awaited Mohmand Dam on May 2 at the project site, at Swat River, about five-kilometers upstream of Munda Headworks, Mohmand district.
According to a notification of the Ministry of Water and Power, all the arrangements have taken place. Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has already awarded contract of the project to a consortium led by Descon Engineering. The project had been awarded at a cost of 298 billion rupees.
Mohmand Dam would have a gross storage capacity to store 1.9 million acre feet (MAF) water with power generation potential of 800-MW and it will irrigate around 17,000 acres of land.
The much-delayed project is likely to be completed before flood season of 2024 as work has already been commenced and the contractor has mobilized heavy machinery to the dam site.
As per the PC-1, the project cost was initially approved at Rs309 billion. However, Rs18 billion cost has been reduced through negotiation with the contractor, bringing it down to Rs 291 billion. According to an official, the local people have already transferred 844 acre of land for the project.
The government would provide 37 per cent fund for the project while remaining fund would be arranged by Water and Power Authority. The project aims at helping mitigate risk of floods in Peshawar, Charsadda and Mardan.
The official said that the evaluation of technical bids had resulted in the reduction of cost of the project by Rs18bn, which included omission of duplicate works and deduction of the price from errors in the tender documents etc.
The official said building a large dam is a serious construction work as more than one million cubic feet of concrete is required. This is why the cost is high too as compared to other infrastructure development works, the official said. The execution of the project has been delayed for about five decades due to various reasons.
