Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed to create the “biggest dam” in the country’s history as he kicked off the much-delayed Diamer-Bhasha dam building.
The world’s tallest roller compact concrete (RCC) dam will be a joint venture of China Power and Frontier Works Organization (FWO), the 8 million acre-feet (MAF) reservoir with a height of 272 metres. This will have a spillway, fourteen gates and five outlets to wash out silt. The project would be completed by 2028, with a total financial outlay of about Rs1,406.5bn.
The prime minister, addressing a public gathering in Chilas, Gilgit-Baltistan, said the dam would also help the GB people.
He vowed that the Government will create the “biggest dam in Pakistan’s history” with this initiative. “This is going to be our third major Dam. China has created around 5,000 major dams, but has about 80,000 dams in total. You can gage from that the big mistakes we made in the past [by not constructing new reservoirs], “he said.
“Fifty years ago, the decision to build the dam was made. There can be no better place to build a dam, that’s a natural dam. This was decided forty, fifty years ago and today work on the project has started. This is one of the key reasons we haven’t made any progress, “PM Imran observed.
The government spends in GB, districts combined and Balochistan, he said. He concluded his speech with congratulations to GB men.
“Time will prove that this dam will change the fortune of the GB people, particularly those who live in Chilas.”
Earlier that day, Imran and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Minister of Water Resources Faisal Vawda had visited the dam site, where they were briefed on the mega project.
Extracted from City42 News
