Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday approved in principle the financing plan of the much-delayed 4500 megawatt Diamer-Basha Dam project on the Indus river in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and asked officials to expediate its construction.
Secretary Ministry of Water and Power Mohammad Younus Dagha presented the dam’s financial proposal to the Prime Minister. The dam will be constructed in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district.
Sharif instructed Dagha and the secretary of planning and finance to expedite the completion of the financial process and begin the physical process before the end of next year, Radio Pakistan reported.
The financial plan, made on a self-reliance basis, proposes that construction of the dam will receive a portion of the required funding from allocations made by the Public Sector Development Programme and from resources generated by Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).
The rest of the financing for the dam will be arranged on a commercial basis by the Ministry of Water and Power either through Wapda or through leasing its existing projects.
The construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam has been considerably delayed. It was approved for construction by Council of Common Interests in the year 2009.