Diamer Bhasha Dam: 5 foreign and local joint ventures pre qualification bids received

Diamer Bhasha Dam: 5 foreign and local joint ventures pre qualification bids received

ISLAMABAD – The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) said Wednesday it had received pre-qualifications bids from several firms for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha dam.

“The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), while gearing up its efforts for implementation of the projects, today 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-Bhasha dam project,” it said in a statement.

It announced to evaluate the bids in accordance with the procurement rules of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority and the Pakistan Engineering Council.

According to Wapda, the 272-meter Diamer-Bhasha dam will have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 million acre feet and would generate more than 18 billion units of electricity on annual basis.

“Diamer-Bhasha dam is a multipurpose project aimed at water storage, flood mitigation and power generation. The project will be constructed across River Indus about 40-kilometer downstream of Chillas town.

“The project will generate 4500 megawatts of electricity with annual energy generation of more than 18 billion units of low-cost and environment friendly electricity. With construction of Diamer-Bhasha dam project, the life of Tarbela dam will enhance to another 35 years,” it added.