WAPDA Launches Feasibility Study for Four New Dams on Chenab River
ISLAMABAD : Analytical feasibility studies have been started by the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) regarding the construction of four new low-head dams along the Chenab River to store the monsoon rain water and the surges during the floods to reduce the drought situations.
The planned multipurpose reservoirs, at Wazirabad, Madh Ranjha, Chiniot and Shah Jiwana, would hold some 4.5 million acre-feet (MAF) of water in total. The aggregate estimate of the construction costs of the four projects is Rs 298 billion.
The project, however, has led to an official enquiry by the Sindh government, which has officially asked WAPDA to submit detailed feasibility study, PC-1 documents and hydrological information. Sindh has called for detailed studies with regard to environmental sustainability, water flow effects and downstream effects on the Indus Delta.
Available official documents indicate Sindh government believes it cannot take a decisive position unless all the technical parameters and impact assessment details are available. Information from very wet years, such as 2022 and 2025, shouldn’t be used as a typical standard of water availability, officials said.
However, WAPDA has responded that it would be willing to provide the information of existing technical studies to the provincial stakeholders. The officials from WAPDA said water demands downstream to Kotri would automatically get optimised once the Diamer-Basha and Mohmand dams are fully functional, while talks were in progress around the water sharing issues and efforts to protect the ecology in the region.