HARIPUR: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said it is essential to generate electricity in such a way that it does not contribute to global warming — a crucial issue facing the world at the moment.

He was speaking at a ceremony after inaugurating the work on 1,530MW Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project on Thursday.

According to official documents, three power generating units, each with the capacity of 510MW, would be installed at Tunnel 5 of the Tarbela’s reservoir at a cost of $807 million.

The World Bank and Infrastructure Investment Bank are the main funding agencies for the project that is being built in the jurisdiction of Ghazi tehsil of Haripur district. The project would contribute 1,530MW of hydel electricity to the national grid by 2024.

Inaugurates work on 1,530MW Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project

The prime minister said it’s the need of the hour that electricity is generated in such a manner that it does not contribute to global warming, adding that Pakistan is bestowed with abundant water resources and past rulers could have generated cheap hydel power but it was not their priority.

He regretted that electricity being produced in the country was costliest in the world and this was the outcome of costly contracts the past rulers had signed on the condition of ensuring capacity payment.

He said the burden of ill-planned costly contracts made the people of Pakistan pay a heavy price. “Our industries are provided with costly electricity and as a result they are unable to compete in the global market without subsidy,” he said.

About the reason behind China’s success, the premier said that future-oriented planning was the key tool. The past rulers of the country, he added, remained confined to making election-to-election planning that had forced the nation to face multifaceted challenges.

The feasibility plan to build Bhasha dam was conceived in 1984 but it couldn’t be materialised as the rulers lacked the vision, making the nation suffer as a result, he said.

Mr Khan said it was high time for timely completion of Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha dams because silt flowing towards Tarbela and other dams would be slowed down considerably and operational capacity of dams would get a new lease of life.

The premier said the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project would add to the life of the dam as sediment accumulated in the reservoir was a few miles from the main structure.

He said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) government was committed to building 10 dams in 10 years, including Diamer-Bhasha and Dasu dams, and these projects would not only help the country get cheap hydel electricity, but also increase water storage capacity for agriculture.

Mr Khan said that the construction of Mohmand dam would be completed by 2025 while Diamer-Bhasha dam was expected to be ready by 2028.

Speaking about the burning issue of global warming, he said that countries like Turkey, Greece, Russia and Italy were witnessing wildfires which was a new phenomenon for them as they hardly faced such a situation in the past.

“In our country the city of Jacobabad has been declared the hottest place in the world which is worrisome and obviously a result of global warming,” he said, quoting a recent report on global warming indicating that the world temperature was on the rise at a rapid pace.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, federal Minister Omar Ayub Khan, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and officials of Wapda were also in attendance on this occasion.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2021