Cost of Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project escalates by 115pc to Rs665b

ISLAMABAD - The cost of the 800MW Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project has surged by 115 percent to Rs665 billion from the originally approved cost of Rs309 billion, while its completion deadline has also been extended by six years. Against the completion deadline of September 2025, the project is now scheduled to be completed in September 2031, official source told The Nation. According to the source, the project was approved by ECNEC in 2018 with the estimated cost of Rs309.558 billion with the completion deadline of seven years and two months, however now the cost has escalated to Rs665 billion and the completion deadline extended to 12 years and 9 months. The current physical progress of the project stands at 56.91 percent and financial progress at 88.69 percent, with total expenditure of Rs274,548.481 million. LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum inaugurates Judicial Complex in Alipur The main reason for cost escalation was attributed to increase in the cost of permanent access roads, WAPDA Camp Colony, river diversion, CFRD and spillway. Additional scope includes small powerhouses on LBIT & RBIT Rs2,577.93m, small powerhouse on Peshawar Water Supply Scheme Rs2,611.27m, new Munda Headworks downstream of flood-damaged existing headworks Rs15,913.57m, and new 200.40m Salay-Pattay Bridge with 3.40km approach road due to submergence Rs3,952.86m. The original approved PC-I cost of Rs309.558 billion was apportioned into two parts. Part A (dam part) amounting to Rs114,282.000 million, 37 percent of the total project cost, to be financed through PSDP grant, whereas Part B (power generation facility) amounting to Rs195,276.378 million, 63 percent of the total project cost, involving equity, debt and IDC. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia vow to strengthen bilateral ties Under the revised PC-I, the project cost has been apportioned into dam part (water sector) of Rs267,002 million and power generation part (power sector) of Rs398,740 million. The dam part would be financed through the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). The power generation cost is Rs398,740 million, 60 percent of the total project cost, including IDC of Rs46,226 million. The indicative funding strategy for this part excluding IDC involves WAPDA equity (20pc) and debt (80pc), same as in the approved PC-I. Financing through debt (80pc) amounts to Rs282,001 million and equity amounts to Rs70,502 million. Accidents preventive measures discussed Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project is a large, multi-purpose dam under construction on the Swat River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, approximately 48 kilometers from Peshawar. The project is of strategic national importance as it directly addresses the country's water storage deficit, energy insecurity and vulnerability to climate-induced floods. By creating an active storage reservoir of 1,594 million cubic meters, the dam will help regulate the flow of the Swat River, reducing the frequency and severity of floods that have repeatedly inundated downstream districts such as Charsadda and Nowshera, while simultaneously providing a reliable source of irrigation water to convert rain-fed areas into regulated agricultural systems and improve crop yields across approximately 85,000 hectares. Breast cancer awareness seminar held The 800MW of clean hydropower carries socio-economic and regional integration benefits for the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), including job creation, improved drinking water supply to over 3 million people in Peshawar, and development of community infrastructure such as schools, health facilities and roads. The primary objectives are to generate 800MW of hydropower from the main powerhouse, supplemented by three smaller powerhouses on irrigation and water supply tunnels for an additional 10.78MW; provide 131.653 cusec and 74.87 cusecs irrigation water through left and right bank canals respectively to irrigate 7,180 hectares of new command area and supplement shortages in existing canals; supply 470.39 cusecs of drinking water to Peshawar city; mitigate flood damages downstream; and generate an average of 2,917.78 GWh of clean energy annually.