Chairman WAPDA Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed (Retd) ordered contractors and the project team to fast-track the Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project, directing them to finalize an accelerated schedule and deploy additional resources to keep the scheme on deadline.

The WAPDA chief inspected multiple work fronts across the River Swat site in Mohmand district, reviewing progress on the spillway, powerhouse, main dam, diversion tunnels inlet, upstream coffer dam and power tunnel. He was briefed on site-wise milestones, remaining tasks and timelines, with construction ongoing simultaneously at more than a dozen locations.

Officials informed him the river diversion system successfully withstood recent flood peaks in the current high-flow season. Filling of the main dam commenced in May following excavation of the right and left abutments and the dam pit. Electricity generation is slated to begin in December 2027 after completion of the principal structure.

Presiding over a meeting at the project office, the WAPDA head pressed contractors to scale up manpower and machinery, and instructed the project team, consultants and builders to lock in an expedited execution plan aligned with the agreed schedule. He also called for accelerating quarry development and the ongoing impounding of the main reservoir.

Mohmand Dam, the world’s fifth-tallest concrete-face rock-fill dam, is a multipurpose development designed to store 1.29 million acre-feet of water. It will irrigate 18,237 acres of new land in Mohmand and Charsadda and bolster supplies to 160,000 acres already under cultivation. The facility is expected to curb flood losses downstream, benefitting Charsadda, Peshawar and Nowshera.

With an installed capacity of 800 MW, the hydropower complex is projected to generate 2.86 billion units of electricity annually. It will also provide 300 million gallons of water per day for urban use in Peshawar.

The Chairman was accompanied by Member (Finance) Naveed Asghar Chaudhry, Member (Water) Syed Ali Akhtar Shah and Member (Power) Muhammad Arfan Miana. GM/PD Mohmand Dam Engr Asim Rauf Khan, along with representatives of the consultants and contractors, joined the visit and briefing.