(Wapda) has signed a contract worth Rs4.8 billion with China Railway First Group (CRFG)

ISLAMABAD: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has signed a contract worth Rs4.8 billion with China Railway First Group (CRFG) for the construction of a project colony and allied infrastructure for Dasu Hydropower project. The contract includes construction of project offices, residential houses, hostels, rest house, hospital, community centre, parks, and playground and is expected to be completed in about two years, said a press release. Job security: WAPDA employees protest against privatisation Dasu Hydropower Project General Manager Wapda Haji Muhammad Farooq Ahmed and CRFG General Manager Xian Zhengjum signed the agreement in a ceremony held at Wapda House. Wapda Chairman Zafar Mahmood was also present. Urging the contractor to complete the work within the stipulated time, Mahmood marked the day to be a good one for DHP with the project’s fourth contract been awarded through a transparent system. “Expression of Interest (EoI) submitted by various international construction firms for civil works of the dam and powerhouse are being processed, and construction on the dam and powerhouse will commence as soon as the processing is completed,” said Mahmood. Pakistan to hand over 2,281 acres of Gwadar’s free trade zone to Chinese It is worth mentioning that contractors of the earlier three contracts mobilised sites for construction of 132-KV transmission line from Duber Khwar hydel power station to Dasu project site, relocation of Karakoram Highway and construction of the right bank access road. The federal government will execute the Dasu project in two stages. The World Bank is financing stage I with an International Development Association (IDA) credit of $588.4 million and IDA Partial Credit Guarantee of $460 million. The 2160 MW-Stage-I is scheduled to be completed in five years and will contribute more than 12 billion units of affordable and environment-friendly electricity to the national grid every year. After CPEC: China ranks first in foreign investment Moreover it will provide relief to consumers by reducing power tariff. To cap it all, the project will usher in a new era of socio-economic development in the far-flung areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Published in The Express Tribune, November 18th, 2015.