Diamer Bhasha Dam is a multi-purpose mega-dam of Pakistan. It is the most awaited and needed development project for Pakistan The last water storage dam in Pakistan was built in the late 60s. Since then, Although many small dams and reservoirs were made for the purpose of water storage, irrigation, and power generation, these are not as big to compensate the energy needs of Pakistan as Tarbela Dam, Mangla Dam or Rawal Dam do.
Diamer Bhasha Dam is the biggest ever dam project commenced in Pakistan. It is also expected to be one of the tallest dams in the world. The project will have a power generating capacity of 4.5GW, aside from providing water storage and flood alleviation facilities for Pakistan.
The total budgetary cost for the Diamer Basha Dam Project is about Rs1406.5 billion and it will be completed in 2028
Location and site details
Diamer Bhasha Dam is located at the Indus River near the border of KPK and GB. It is about 315 km upstream of Tarbela Dam, 165 km downstream to Gilgit, and 40 km downstream of Chilas.
Controversy over Diamer Bhasha Dam
This project has drawn controversy because of its location in Gilgit Baltistan.
The Diamer Bhasha Dam Project has notable local resistance, as it is expected to relocate more than 4,200 families in nearby areas and swamp a large part of the Karakoram Highway.
The project area of the dam endures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), It has led to a domestic argument between Gilgit Baltistan and KP with both the provinces arguing for claims over the royalty from the dam. The boundary issues between the two provinces remain unsettled.
The bilateral regional dispute between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir issue and the seismicity of the project area have forborne the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), as well as other international donor agencies from providing financial assistance to the controversial project.
Dam and reservoir details
Diamer Bhasha will be a roller-compacted concrete gravity dam with a crest length exceeding 1km and a maximum height of 272m.
The reservoir of the dam will hold up to 7,500,000 acre-feet of water, it is approximately 15% of the annual river flow. The gross storage capacity of the reservoir will be ten billion cubic meters.
Spillways of the dam will comprise 14 radial gates, each one will have a height of16.25m and 11.5m in width. Each gate will have a maximum water discharge capacity to be 18,128m³/s. The maximum storage capacity of the dam reservoir is 9.99 x 109m3.
The total cost of the Diamer-Bhasha dam would cost Rs474 billion. The government of Pakistan will provide 30% investment for the project, while Wapda will invest Rs100 billion,
Contractors involved in the Project
The USAID approved $20m for handling a feasibility study for the project in 2013.
MWH Global, in consortium with NESPAK and Associated Consulting Engineers (ACE), completed environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) for the project in August 2016, under a $17.9m contract awarded by the USAID
The ECNEC of the Government of Pakistan approved Rs474 bn for the preliminary dam construction phase of the Diamer Bhasha project in April 2018
Power China and FWO are contracted for the construction of the diversion system, main dam, access bridge, and 21 MW-Tangir Hydropower Project
Dam Fund details
View the statistics for the dam fund in Prime Minister-Cheif Justice Dam Fund here.