PM expresses satisfaction over the progress of Mohmand Dam hydropower project

MOHMAND, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday visited the site of Mohmand Dam and reviewed the ongoing construction work.

Chairman Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Lt Gen (retd) Muzammil Hussain briefed the prime minister on the progress of the project.

Imran Khan expressed satisfaction over the progress of the project which will ensure generation of clean and green electricity besides fulfilling the agricultural needs.

The Mohmand Dam hydropower project is the first mega dam in five decades, the groundbreaking of which was performed by Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 2, 2019.

On the direction of the prime minister, the work on Mohmand Dam continued even during the pandemic to complete the project at a fast pace.

The dam is constructed on Swat River will help in areas including flood protection, agriculture and crop needs, water security and environment-friendly electricity supply.

The dam costing Rs 309.6 billion will be constructed 218 meters high with a storage capacity of 1.293 million acre-feet water and will generate 800-megawatt electricity.

In the areas of electricity, irrigation, and flood protection, Mohmand Dam will save Rs 51 billion annually. It will yield an annual revenue of Rs 45.76 billion and create over 6,100 job opportunities. The work is in progress at nine different sites and the WAPDA is committed to complete the project by the year 2025.

Two canals are being constructed in Punjab, which on completion will greatly improve the supply of cheap electricity as well as water for agricultural purposes. It will produce 2.86 billion units of power annually.

The Mohmand Dam will save Peshawar, Nowshera, and Charsadda from floods and will irrigate around 180,000 acres of land. Later on, Prime Minister Imran Khan has inaugurated low-cost family flats for laborers at Regi Lalma in Peshawar. Addressing the inaugural ceremony in Peshawar today, he said his government is committed to facilitating lower segments of society as per the vision of the State of Madinah. He said no attention was paid to the poor class by successive regimes in past. He said PTI is the first government, which is focusing on the welfare of the oppressed and neglected people through the provision of health cards and housing facilities.

Talking about the construction work on Mohmand Dams, the Prime Minister said this reservoir will be completed by 2025 and it will irrigate 17,000 acres of land, provide 300 million gallon of water to the residents of Peshawar and generate cheap electricity.

Imran Khan said 10 smaller and bigger dams will be constructed in the country by 2028 to take care of the electricity needs and food security of the country.

It is pertinent to mention that 2,056 family flats will be distributed among registered workers of the province through balloting. Three percent quota has been reserved for widows and two percent for differently-abled people. The project, also includes a school comprising 30 classrooms.

Earlier, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser called on Prime Minister Imran Khan and discussed issues related to legislation and the upcoming budget.

The NA Speaker also informed the Prime Minister about the convening of the conference of Parliamentary Assembly of Economic Coordination Organization (ECO) countries in Pakistan.

Pakistan is hosting a conference of the Parliamentary Assembly of ECO countries in which the Speakers of the Parliaments of the member countries will participate.

Asad Qaiser extended an invitation to Prime Minister Imran Khan to attend the conference as a special guest.