ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government, in a bid to construct Diamer Bhasha Dam, has been mulling over various options to ensure additional collections and a policy in this very regard will be introduced soon after getting a consent from all the provinces, said sources.
Well-informed sources revealed to Pakistan Today that present PTI government was considering and analyzing various options to construct much-awaited Diamer Bhasha dam to meet burgeoning energy needs of the country.
They said the government was mulling to form a Diamer Bhasha dam Private Limited Company besides a collection of donations from overseas Pakistanis and also from the citizens.
They said the PTI government has been devising a policy to construct the dam and a consent of provinces will be sought in near future prior to the introduction of this policy in the country. Pakistanis will find profit in monthly utility bills while overseas Pakistanis will be given profit in dollars and a confidence of all provinces will be ensured to guarantee the construction of the said dam, said sources.
Sharing details of a proposed plan regarding the formation of Diamer Bhasha dam Pvt Ltd Co., the sources said that it was proposed to market the shares of this company through Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) and approximately 52 percent shares of the company will be owned by the government and owners of remaining 48pc shares will be with the masses.
They said a campaign to attract overseas Pakistanis to buy the shares of Diamer Bhasha dam will be launched to collect amounts for the dam and to balance the remittances of the country, said sources.
The sources also said that PTI government was also considering burdening the rich instead of the poor to construct the dam.
They said the imposition of a tax on bridges, barrages, and on inter-provincial crossing to collect amount for the dam was also under consideration. Similarly, a proposal to collect additional amounts through service delivery may get the approval of concerned authorities.
Likewise, PTI-government will time and again appeal the nation to play role in the construction of much needed Diamer Bhasha dam.
More, the government will approach all political parties to convince them to participate in the drive for Diamer Bhasha dam mainly to make the dream of the dam a reality in future, said sources.
It is relevant to mention that being the pioneer of a drive for Diamer Bhasha dam, Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar has already requested the nation and overseas Pakistanis to send donations for the construction of the Diamer Bhasha dam and so far, a significant amount has been collected after his appeal. The honourable CJP has assured the nation that their donations would be used for the dam only and he would ensure proper usages of the donations for the dam.
Similarly, Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed has also announced to introduce Rs 2 to Rs 10 per ticket tax in railways to help assist the government in its drive to start work on the construction of this dam to satisfy the water and power demands of the country.
In the wake of Supreme Court’s decision and the Government’s resolve for early commencement and timely completion of Diamer Basha and Mohmand Dams, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), while gearing up its efforts for implementation of the projects has received pre-qualification bids at WAPDA House from as many as five joint ventures of foreign and local firms through international competitive bidding for construction of main dam and appurtenant structures of Diamer Basha Dam Project.
The pre-qualification bids will be evaluated in accordance with the bid documents and the relevant procurement rules of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC).
Reportedly, the PM-CJP Dams Fund received a total of Rs3.023 billion till Tuesday. The countrywide contribution to the fund stood at Rs2.876 billion while Rs147.6 million was transferred from abroad, according to an update issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The fund witnessed a boost after the recent speech of Prime Minister Imran Khan who urged the nation to donate generously for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams. Some Rs906.2 million was received in the fund on September 11, SBP said.
Meanwhile, SBP, in a circular, directed the banks not to charge any service fee, including interchange fee, merchant discount rate, transaction fee, etc. on the donations/payments made to the dams fund through payment cards (debit, credit or prepaid cards).
It is worth mentioning that Diamer Basha Dam is a multipurpose project aiming at water storage, flood mitigation and power generation. The project will be constructed across River Indus, about 40-kilometer downstream of Chillas town.
The 272-meter high Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Dam will have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 million acre-feet (MAF). The project will generate 4500 megawatts of electricity with annual energy generation of more than 18 billion units of low-cost and environmentally friendly electricity.
With the construction of Diamer Basha Dam Project, the life of Tarbela Dam will enhance to another 35 years. It will also have a positive impact on the annual energy generation of the projects in the downstream areas.
It is estimated that the annual energy generation of the existing hydel power stations including Tarbela, Ghazi Barotha, Jinnah and Chashma will increase by about 2.5 billion per annum, while annual energy generation of the future hydropower projects including Dasu, Pattan and Thakot will also surge by another 7.5 billion units.
