Canals, Tunnels and Penstocks

Flooding prompts Mohmand Dam project inspection

Flooding prompts Mohmand Dam project inspection

Pakistan’s Water Resources Federal Secretary Dr. Kazim Niaz and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Lt. Gen Sajjad Ghani (Retd) visited the Mohmand Dam multipurpose project to review the facility in the wake of unprecedented flood peaks in the Swat River.

The officials gathered first-hand information about the flood’s adverse impacts. Operators of the Mohmand Dam Project gave a presentation about the pre- and post-flood situations. Construction activities were continuing on as many as 14 locations for the project before the flood hit the construction area on Aug. 26. That day, WAPDA said flood water entered the diversion tunnels, breaching and overtopping the protection dyke.

The inspection team was briefed about the impact of the flood and loss to different project components, including the diversion tunnels, re-regulation pond and periphery roads on both banks of the Swat River in the project area. This loss and impact will affect timelines of the project’s completion, management said.

Ghani said the response of project management to such unprecedented flood helped minimize impacts at the construction sites. He said that the construction activities will be restarted after floodwaters recede. The WAPDA chief directed project management to devise a contingency plan in consultation with the consultants and contractor to overcome possible delays in completion of the project.

Mohmand Dam is being constructed in District Mohmand of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The concrete-faced rockfill dam is designed to store about 1.2 million-acre feet of water and help mitigate floods in Peshawar, Charsadda and Naushera. Besides supplementing 160,000 acres of land, about 18,237 acres of new land will also be irrigated.

The 800 MW Mohmand Dam Power House will low-cost and environment friendly hydroelectricity annually to the National Grid. In addition, 300 million gallons of water per day will be provided to Peshawar for drinking purposes. Annual benefits of the project have been estimated at PKR51.6 billion ($232.4 million). The project is scheduled to be completed in 2026.