ISLAMABAD: WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen (Retd) Muhammad Saeed visited the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project on November 9 and 10 following an incident at its raised intake structure.
During the visit, he inspected the intake, tunnel, powerhouse and other project sites. WAPDA officials, contractors and consultants briefed him on the situation and response measures. At a subsequent meeting, officials considered possible causes, immediate actions and short-, medium- and long-term safeguards.
WAPDA said project teams had begun carrying out urgent measures and assessed that the incident currently posed no threat to the main Tarbela Dam or its critical structures. Saeed directed consultants to submit a comprehensive report, ordered a departmental inquiry and instructed the teams to implement repairs and prepare a contingency plan to limit delays.
The Ministry of Water Resources has received WAPDA’s initial assessment. Minister Mian Muhammad Mueen Watto was also briefed by the WAPDA chairman.
The 1,530-megawatt project is being built on Tarbela Dam’s Tunnel No. 5 with financing from the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
