Following the completion of one of two diversion tunnels at the currently under-construction Dasu hydropower project in Kohistan District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), the Indus River was successfully diverted.
According to the sources, instead of following its natural course, the river now flows through a 1.33-kilometre (Km) diversion tunnel with a 20-metre (m) width and a 23-metre (m) height.
As a result, construction activities on the starter dam have begun, leading to the construction of the main dam of the Dasu hydropower project.
The mighty river was diverted in front of the project’s general manager and project director, as well as representatives from contractors and consultants, along with a number of engineers and workers.
Meanwhile, Lt General (retd) Sajjad Ghani, Chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), congratulated the project management on reaching this milestone.
The Dasu hydropower project’s diversion system consists of two tunnels: tunnel A and tunnel B. The latter is complete and has enough discharge capacity to divert water from the Indus River during the latest lean-flow season.
Moreover, the 1.5-kilometre-long tunnel A, with a width of 20 metres and a height of 23 metres, will also be ready by mid-April this year to accommodate increased water flows during the high-flow season.
The project is a critical component of WAPDA’s low-cost, green, and clean energy generation strategy. The Dasu hydropower project, with a capacity of 4320 MW, will be completed in two stages.
In addition, WAPDA is currently building Stage-I, which will have an installed generation capacity of 2160 MW and an annual energy generation capacity of 12 billion units, and is expected to begin electricity generation in 2026.
When completed, the 2160 MW stage-II plant will add 9 billion units to the national grid.
Sources reported that when both stages are completed, Dasu will be the project with the highest annual energy production in Pakistan (i.e. 21 billion units per annum on average).