Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that the construction of news dams is a must to provide affordable electricity to the masses in Pakistan.
According to the details, the prime minister while chairing a meeting on national water security and construction of dams to fulfill agricultural as and energy needs in the country said that the construction and completion of dams was the need of the hour to provide cheap and continuous electricity to the people of Pakistan.
The Prime minister informed in a meeting that all the paperwork had been completed to start the construction of Diamer Bhasha Dam.
After having an overview of the project, the prime minister expressed his satisfaction over the work done by then and ordered to start the construction work immediately.
Water Resources Minister Faisal Vawda, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, Information Minister Shibli Faraz, Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Special Assistant to the PM on Information Lt. Gen. (R) Asim Saleem Bajwa and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Lieutenant General (R) Muzammil Hussain participated in the meeting with other senior officials.
The prime minister was told in the meeting that 16,500 jobs would be created during the construction of Diamir Bhasha Dam and the use of cement and steel and other material would give a boost to the construction industry in the country.
The prime minister was further briefed that the storage capacity of the dam would be 6.4 MAF (Million Acre Feet) and it would drag down the current capacity of water shortage in the country to 6.1 MAF from 12 MAF.
It was also briefed in the meeting that the dam would cause agricultural activities in an area of 1.23 million acres in the country while 35 more years would be added to the life of Tarbela Dam with the construction of Diamir Bhasha Dam.
Bhasha Dam will produce 4500 MW of cost-effective electricity to meet the energy requirements in the country.
In the meeting, the prime minister directed the concerned authorities to use local expertise and material in the construction of Diamir Bhasha Dam on a priority basis. It will help to create more jobs, construct infrastructure, and improve our economy.
The WAPDA chairman briefed the prime minister about Mohmand Dam, Dasu Dam, Noulong Dam, and Sindh Barrage. The prime minister appreciated the speed of the work and asked the authorities to meet the deadlines set for the completion of these projects.
He also briefed the meeting that funds had been arranged for these projects and all the necessary requirements had already been met for the smooth sailing of the projects.
Talking about Sindh Barrage, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that this project should be initiated on a priority basis as it would fulfill agricultural requirements in the province and would also improve the situation of drinking water in Sindh.
The prime minister appreciated the concerned authorities for taking up the projects on water security in a professional way and asked them to make sure that the quality of work would not be compromised anyway.
