GILGIT: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the construction site of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) on Sunday and asked the authorities concerned to expedite the work to complete the project by 2026-27 instead of the scheduled time of 2029.

“I insist we go ahead of its timeline of 2029 and complete it by 2026-27. It will be a miracle if we achieve it. Nothing is impossible in this world. We can achieve it if we advance in unison,” said Mr Sharif while speaking to the staff of the project after receiving a briefing from the officials.

The prime minister agreed that it was a gigantic task and assured all-out support from the federal government to complete the project as early as possible.

During his first-ever visit to GB after assuming the prime minister’s office last week, Mr Sharif was accompanied by senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Khawaja Asif and party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb.

Attends briefing on power projects in northern areas; GB governor, CM ignore visit

No representative of the GB government, including Governor Raja Jalal Hussain Maqpoon and Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan, attended the briefing and other engagements of the prime minister. However, GB Chief Secretary Rashid Mahmood, Inspector-General of Police Muhammad Saeed Wazir and other senior officials were present on the occasion.

The briefing to the prime minister on the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and some other ongoing projects was given by Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman Muzammil Hussain.

Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister said the 4,500-megawatt project was of immense importance and would serve as a future lifeline for the country’s economy, augmenting the power generation and boosting agriculture activities.

Taking the credit for the project, he said it was initiated by former prime minister and his elder brother Nawaz Sharif in 2016 and the previous PML-N government had provided funds for the land acquisition.

Mr Sharif suggested that international investors should be encouraged for future fundraising, adding that early construction of the dam would be a good omen and a milestone in the country’s history.

He regretted that out of 125-130 million acre-feet (MAF) of water, the country was only saving and utilising 25-30 MAF annually.

“What could be more abusive to a nation?” he asked, stating that they were all responsible for the situation. He said all this had been happening in the past, whether it was a democratic era or dictatorship.

“We have to learn from the past and move towards the future. Water is a gift of nature and it should be saved from being wasted as much as possible. This will be a great achievement. This dam will play an important role,” he went on saying.

The prime minister observed that the Diamer-Bhasha Dam would play a vital role in water storage capacity and would also save the Tarbela Dam from deposits of sediments and enhance its lifespan by 35 years.

The dam, he said, would control flash floods, improve agricultural productivity and create jobs in the area, leading to economic prosperity.

The PM said he would not go into what happened during the past four years, but what happened with the power sector was indeed an injustice to the nation. Despite a power generation capacity of about 6,000-7,000MW, several gas-fired and oil-run power plants had been shut, he added.

As a Khadim-i-Pakistan (the servant of Pakistan), he said he would not lie before the nation or twist the truth, but facts should come forward.

He said the GB area lacked health facilities and recalled that as the chief minister of Punjab, he had once donated a scanning machine to Gilgit.

Hospital, tunnel projects

The prime minister also directed officials to submit a report within a week for building a fully equipped hospital in Chilas.

On this occasion, he also announced the construction of the 13km Babusar Top tunnel to ensure year’s round traffic flow and asked the authorities to submit a study report to his office.

Earlier, the Wapda chairman said during his briefing that three mega hydroelectric projects — Diamer-Bhasha, Mohmand and Dasu dams — worth Rs2.6 trillion were being completed. He said Diamer-Bhasha would have a storage capacity of 8.1 MAF, including live storage of 6.4 MAF, and irrigate 1.23 million acres and generate 18,100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power annually.

The project would be completed during 2029 despite different challenges, he said, adding that about 16,500 jobs would be created. He said the project was of paramount importance for the country’s food security.

Later, the prime minister also took an aerial view of Karakorum Highway, 3MW Thuk power project and Chilas Cadet College.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Saturday, the prime minister blamed the “mismanagement” of the previous Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government for the prevailing energy crisis in the country.

He claimed that there was loadshedding in the country due to the “gross mismanagement and incompetence” of the previous government. The country had the capacity of generating 35,000 MW of electricity, but due to the closure of different power plants running on gas and oil, several parts of the country had been facing loadshedding for the last few days, he said.

Mr Sharif regretted that coal-fired and solar power plants, which had been set up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and LNG plants that could produce about 5,000MW of electricity had been lying shut.

The prime minister accused the previous government of paying no attention to the energy issue and said several power plants had been closed due to the non-availability of oil and gas.

He, however, had assured the house the new government was trying to resolve issues facing the country on a priority basis.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2022