China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
Islamabad, 18th April (RHC)–The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) mega-projects will add millions of cubic meters (m3) of water storage and thousands of megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric power to the national grid, it was announced today.
Likewise, the work will improve the training of new hydroelectric engineers and other Pakistani specialists, The Islamabad Post newspaper reported.
Large hydroelectric power plants in Pakistan, such as Diamer Basha Dam and Mohmand and Dasu Dams, among others, enable young engineers to learn and share their experiences with foreign experts, especially Chinese experts.
The new pool of specialists has great prospects, as it has immense potential for generating electricity from hydropower.
The President of Pakistan’s Water and Energy Development Authority (Wapda), Lt. Gen. (retired) Muzammil Hussain briefed the new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the progress of the works and said that a multi-pronged strategy for the development of hydroelectric power and water storage under the vision would be applied the so-called “decade of dams”.
Wapda is currently building up to 10 mega projects to ensure Pakistan’s water, food and energy security.
Together, these projects are expected to create 35,000 job opportunities and contribute significantly to the socio-economic improvement of underdeveloped areas.
An example of this is the Diamer Basha dam, which will be completed in 2029 and will save the country $2.5 billion annually and make it easier to irrigate 500,000 hectares of land. (Source: PL)