PM PERFORMS GROUNDBREAKING OF MOHMAND DAM

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Mohmand - May 2, 2019 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan here Thursday performed the groundbreaking of multi-faceted Mohmand Dam Hydropower project that will generate 800megawatt electricity besides water storage capacity of over 1.2million acres feet (MAF), which will directly benefit people of Charsadda, Mohmand and adjoining areas of Khyber Pakthunkhwa.

Khyber Pakthunkhwa Governor Shah Farman, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mian Saqib Nisar, Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vowda, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Pir Noorul Haq Qadari, Senator Faisal Javed and Member National Assembly, Sajid Khan besides WAPDA officials attended the ceremony.

WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen (Retd) Muzammil Hussain briefed the Prime Minister about salient features of the project.

On completion, the dam will generate an estimated annual energy of about 2862GWh besides an active water storage reservoir of about 1.2MAF in addition to bringing about 17,000 acres barren land under cultivation directly.

Mohmand dam is being constructed on River Swat about 48 kilometers from Peshawar at confluence of Mohmand and Charsadda district and the dam’s reservoir area extends upstream to Mohmand, Bajaur and other northern districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Moreover, the project will supply 13.32 million cubic meter water from Mohmand Dam reservoir to Peshawar City for drinking purposes.

The dam will also address the long awaited problem of water scarcity in Mohmand district and will save Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera and other districts from floods in future.

This mega project is the initiative of the Federal Government, which carried huge potential to meet Pakistan’s energy and water requirements in terms of electricity generation and irrigation besides provision of clean drinking water to inhabitants of Peshawar.

The project is scheduled to be completed in five years i.e. 2024 and on completion will store around 1.2 million acre feet (MAF) of water and generate 800 Megawatts (MW) of hydel electricity.

It will alleviate poverty by providing job opportunities to thousands of people besides locals in the project area and its annual benefits are estimated about Rs51.6 billion for the country.

Its construction will help national power policy achieve the dual goals of meeting Pakistan’s energy needs in a sustainable manner and ensuring generation of affordable electricity, while helping to reduce existing energy’s demand and supply gap.

Construction of 213 meters high Mohmand Dam will alleviate risk of flood damages to great extend in future. The water reservoir would also control river flow and minimize intensity of floods downstream, therefore, the reservoir would be a great source of flood’s protection and will save soil from fertile land from erosion.

Around 8675 acres land are being acquired for construction of requisite infrastructure at the dam site besides 56 kilometers long reservoir, irrigation network and re-regulation pond area.