CPEC’s Dasu Hydropower Project creates 2,664 jobs for locals

Lahore: Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) President Moazzam Ghurki has said that Dasu Hydropower Project (DHPP) in the upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) had created at least 2,664 jobs for the local community which was one of the major milestones of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in this hour of crisis.

Chairing a think-tank session of the joint chamber here at PCJCCI Secretariat, he added that this project would help address the problems of load-shedding and would provide inexpensive electricity to consumers.

The PCJCCI President said that it was a run of river project where the lake of the dam only stored water for energy generation and then released it into the river, and Dasu Dam reservoir would not be used for irrigation.

Another major benefit of this project was that it would enhance the life of Tarbela Dam up to 40 years as it would stop the mud and sand which usually flowed with the Indus River and decreased the height of Tarbela Dam after deposit in the lake.

PCJCCI Senior Vice President Fang Yulon said that this project would accommodate more people in the coming days from the local area, which was one of the backward regions of the country.

Currently, over 3,700 people (including 2,664 locals) had been given jobs during the peak construction period; the number of jobs would be increased to 8,000 with the majority from the local areas, he said and added that currently, work on the 10 project sites was underway to meet the 2026 deadline for power generation. The under-construction sites included diversion tunnels (Indus River water has recently been diverted to one of the tunnels while one is under construction) underground powerhouse, a flushing and traffic tunnel, right bank access roads, 132 KV transmission line, WAPDA colony, and offices, he added.

Vice President Hamza Khalid maintained that upon completion, Dasu would become the project with the highest annual energy generation in Pakistan. He said that every hydel project recovered its cost from the production within five to seven years, cost of the Dasu Hydro Power Project Phase I according to PC-I was Rs 40,0081 million.

PCJCCI Secretary General Salahuddin Hanif added, “We hope that such projects under CPEC will definitely add value and create job opportunities for the well-being of our beloved country. Such projects can save our country from economic miseries in future.”