By Ashley Karen
Engineers at the Dasu Hydropower Project site have achieved success in temporarily diverting the mighty Indus River flow so that excavation can be started on a dry riverbed.
As a result, the river will flow via a 1.33-kilometre-long diversion tunnel instead of its natural course. According to the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), the tunnel has 20 meters in width and 23 meters in height.
In addition, another 1.5km tunnel with the same dimension will be ready by mid-April to cater to more water when the river flow is high.
Currently, the construction has started on the starter dam, leading towards building the main dam of the Dasu Hydropower Project, which is being built in the Dasu town of Upper Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Nevertheless, the dry river bed will assist workers in excavating the site for up to 40 meters to begin work on the 242-metre-high dam.
As expected, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will formally inaugurate the river’s diversion work by March 15.
A Wapda official reported: “The core objective behind this temporary diversion [achieved through dynamite explosion] is not only to ensure smooth flow of the river but also to start construction of the dam, for which we need dry land.”
He claimed that the site would be excavated 40 meters below the riverbed to make water retaining walls 202 meters in height. He also added that the total height of the dam — under and over the ground within an area of 1.33km — is 242 meters.
The official expressed: “Once we complete the dam, the diversion will be closed and the river flow will return to its natural route.”
The general manager and project director, representatives of the contractors and consultants, and several engineers and workers have witnessed the river diversion. Sajjad Ghani, Wapda Chairman, congratulated the project management on accomplishing this task.
The 4,320-megawatt Dasu Hydropower Project is scheduled to be completed in two stages, with an installed generation capacity of 2,160 MW each.
Wapda is working on the first stage of the project. Once completed by 2026, it will generate 12 billion units a year. In addition, the second stage will supply 9bn units to the national grid.
When fully completed, the Dasu power project will become the project with the highest annual energy generation in Pakistan, generating 21bn units a year on average.
