So in a new turn of events it has been found out that the Diamer Basha Dam is set to be open for construction in the next few weeks. The Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives only recently chaired a meeting in order to review the current progress being made on the Diamer Basha Dam Project, which is set to end the water problems that Pakistan may face in the future. In addition, the Minister was informed that work on Diamer Basha Dam Project is already underway and that an expenditure of Rs. 99.238 billion has been incurred on the project till February 2020. This expenditure has one major cost which was of Rs. 93.9 billion for the acquisition of land for the project.
Moreover, it was further informed that WAPDA plans to award the contract for the main dam & allied structures in the coming few weeks or so and that they are confident that construction on the land will start within the current financial year. Further expenditure of around Rs. 61 billion is planned during the current financial year. This includes Rs. 22 billion on resettlement and Rs. 39 billion on construction related activities which revolve around the completion of the dam.
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It should be noted that this project is divided into 6 major components, for which separate contracts are to be awarded in a phased manner. The dam part of the project is expected to be completed by September 2027, while the overall completion is expected in March 2028, whereafter Pakistan shall have another major dam in its arsenal for water reserves and of course electricity generation. The meeting was further informed that the Prime Minister’s Supreme Court Dam Fund has an amount of Rs. 12.17 billion available which is currently invested in MTBs. The minister directed the relevant officials to make sure that the work on the project progresses as per the timelines.
