A seven member delegation of renowned Turkish companies, headed by ENKA Chairman Sinan Tara, visited WAPDA House and held a meeting with WAPDA Chairman Shakil Durrani and members of the Authority. Matters related to mutual cooperation in water and power sectors were discussed. WAPDA Member (Water) Syed Raghib Abbas Shah, WAPDA Secretary Muhammad Imtiaz Tajwar and other WAPDA officers also attended the meeting. Speaking on the occasion, WAPDA chairman said that excellent opportunities are available for foreign investment and construction companies in both water and power sector projects vis-à-vis their scope and benefits.
Referring to the increasing demand of water and electricity, he said that WAPDA is focused on the optimal utilisation of water and hydropower resources so as to cope with the situation. In addition to ready-for-construction Diamer Basha Dam, a multi-purpose project with a water storage capacity of 8.1 million acre feet (MAF) and power generation capacity of 4,500 megawatt (MW), WAPDA has also planned to undertake construction of a number of mega projects with a cumulative generation capacity of over 20,000MW during the next four to five years, he further said.
The WAPDA Chairman said that Spat Gah and Lower Palas Valley hydropower projects have been proposed to be implemented under public-private partnership modality. He also apprised the delegation about the salient features of various small and medium-sized projects in general and Hingol Dam in particular. He said that WAPDA looks forward to the association of Turk companies on its projects through international competitive bidding. Construction of mega canals and removal of silt from the water reservoirs could also be the areas of mutual cooperation, he added.
Giving a run-down of the upcoming projects, WAPDA Member (Water) briefed the delegation about Tarbela fourth Extension and Keyal Khwar Hydropower Project.
Addressing the meeting, ENKA Chairman Sinan Tara said that they are keen to work on WAPDA projects as a part of their long-term planning pertaining to the mutual cooperation. Dilating upon the profile, he said that ENKA is the largest construction and investment company in Turkey with a 54-year experience to its credit in construction, power generation, water works and other allied areas across the continents including North Africa, Russia and the Central Asian states.
