Islamabad, 6 December 2022 (TDI): The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif along with the Ambassador of the United States (US) to Pakistan, Donald Blome inaugurated the refurbishment project of Units 5 and 6 of Mangla Dam.
The project aims at enhancing the electricity generation capacity of Pakistan. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting the construction of the Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant.
Also read: USAID to improve Pakistan’s Power sector
Speaking at the occasion, Blome declared it a great symbol of US & Pakistan cooperation. In this vein, he added, “US is assisting WAPDA in increasing the power capacity of the Tarbela and Gomal dams.”
The Ambassador further reiterated, “maintenance and upgradation of dams were of critical importance in the wake of climate change.
I hope that the green alliance between the two countries would prove beneficial for the energy and agriculture sectors of Pakistan.”
While Shehbaz Sharif on his part lauded the valuable grant of $150 million by USAID and declare it a “wonderful example of cooperation” between both countries.
While appreciating the initiative, he added, “Pakistan is already facing immense challenges of economic stability. It could not bear the heavy costs of energy import bills and needed to utilize alternative sources of electricity production.”
Pointing out the late implementation of the project, Prime Minister reiterated, “had the water reservoirs built on time, the country’s energy import bill would not have swelled to $27 billion.”
“The 75-year-old friendship between Pakistan and the US had further strengthened at the levels of trade and investment.” Shehbaz Sharif concluded.
Notably, Chairman Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Sajjad Ghani, and Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, Tanveer Ilyas attended the ceremony.
Additionally, Special Assistant to Prime Minister; Tariq Fatemi, Secretary Water, and Power Division; Hassan Nisar, and senior officials were also present.
Mangla Refurbishment Project
In May 2022, Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) commissioned two refurbished generating units of the Mangla Hydel Power Station with financial aid provided by USAID.
Also read: USAID and Pakistan Collaborate on producing Clean Energy
The project will enhance the generation capacity of existing power stations from 1000 MW to 1310 MW. Additionally, the average annual generation of Mangla Hydel Power Station will increase from 5 billion units to 6.5 billion units.
It is pertinent to note that the installation of the first four units at Mangla Station, was completed in 1967. Units 5 & 6 were installed in 1974.
WAPDA reaffirms that after achieving the milestone of the refurbishment of units 5 & 6, the project will move to the next phase, to refurbish the next two units 3 & 4.
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