ISLAMABAD: The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved on Monday $1 billion in a second round of additional financing for the DASU Hydropower Project (DHP).
The financing will support the expansion of hydropower electricity supply, improve access to socio-economic services for local communities, and build the Water and Power Development Authority’s (WAPDA) capacity to prepare future hydropower projects.
“Pakistan’s energy sector suffers from multiple challenges to achieving affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy,” said Najy Benhassine, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan.
“The DASU Hydropower Project site is one of the best hydropower sites in the world and is a game changer for the Pakistan energy sector. With a very small footprint, the DHP will contribute to ‘greening’ the energy sector and lowering the cost of electricity.”
DHP is a run-of-river project on the Indus River about 8 km from Dasu Town, the capital of the Upper Kohistan District of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Upon completion, it will have an installed capacity of 4,320–5,400 MW. The project is being built in stages.
DHP-I has a capacity of 2,160 MW and will generate 12,225 gigawatt hours (GWh)/year of low-cost renewable energy. The DHP-II will add 9,260–11,400 GWh per year from the same dam.
Main civil contract works are being performed by the China Gezhouba Group, a construction and engineering company that will construct the dam and related hydraulic structures, an underground powerhouse and a right bank access road from the Dam site to Uttergah.
“DHP-I is an essential project in Pakistan’s efforts to reverse its dependence on fossil fuels and reach 60 percent renewable energy by 2031.” said Rikard Liden, Task Team Leader for the Project.
“The second additional financing will facilitate the expansion of electricity supply and potentially save Pakistan an estimated $1.8 billion annually by replacing imported fuels, and offset around 5 million tons of carbon dioxide. The annual economic return of DHP-I is estimated to be around 28 percent.”
The additional financing will further support ongoing socio-economic initiatives in Upper Kohistan, particularly in the areas of education, health, employment, and transport. Through this project adult literacy has increased by an estimated 30 percent since 2012, boys’ schooling increased by 16 percent while girls’ schooling has increased by 70 percent during this period.
The project will also continue ongoing community development activities on roads, irrigation schemes, schools, medical facilities, mosques, bridges, solar energy systems, and science laboratories and libraries, all with a particular focus on women beneficiaries, including the establishment of free health care clinics/camps with women doctors/nurses, trainings for female health workers, trainings on livelihoods and literacy for women, and awareness-raising programs on health and hygiene.
Pakistan has been a member of the World Bank since 1950. Since then, the World Bank has provided over $46 billion in assistance. The current portfolio has 55 projects and a total commitment of $14.7 billion.
World Bank approves $1 billion for Pakistan’s ‘game changer’ Dasu Hydropower project
https://arab.news/nv4vx
World Bank approves $1 billion for Pakistan’s ‘game changer’ Dasu Hydropower project
- DHP is run-of-river project on Indus River that will have an installed capacity of 4,320–5,400 MW
- DHP-I has capacity of 2,160 MW, will generate 12,225 gigawatt hours a year of low-cost renewable energy
Pakistan’s top military commander hails Saudi defense pact as ‘historic’ at scholars’ conference
- Asim Munir says Pakistan has a unique bond with the Kingdom, citing the ‘honor’ of helping safeguard the holy sites
- He says only the state can declare jihad, urging religious scholars to counter extremist narratives and promote unity
ISLAMABAD: Chief of Defense Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Wednesday described the country’s joint security pact with Saudi Arabia as a “historic” milestone, telling a gathering of religious scholars that Pakistan and the kingdom share a deep strategic relationship.
Signed in September, the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement has solidified decades of Saudi–Pakistan defense cooperation, covering intelligence-sharing, counterterrorism and regional stability.
The two nations have long coordinated on defense matters, with Pakistani military personnel deployed in the Kingdom.
“The defense agreement [with Saudi Arabia] is historic,” he said in an address to the conference in the federal capital.
The top military commander said Pakistan regarded its connection with the Kingdom as unique.
“Among all Muslim countries, Allah has given Pakistan the honor of helping safeguard the Haramain,” he continued, referring to the two holiest sites of Islam in Makkah and Madinah.
Munir used his speech to warn against extremism, saying that under the Islamic framework, only the state could declare jihad, a pointed reference to groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which claims to act in the name of religion while carrying out attacks on civilians and security forces.
“When nations abandon knowledge and the pen, disorder takes hold,” he said, urging the religious scholars to help keep society unified and to “broaden the nation’s vision.”
Munir also criticized India, describing “terrorism” as “India’s habit, not Pakistan’s.”
His remarks came months after a four-day military confrontation in May, during which the two nuclear-armed neighbors exchanged artillery and missile fire and deployed drones and fighter jets.
India blamed Pakistan for a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir before launching a missile attack. Islamabad denied involvement and called for an international probe.
Pakistan claimed it had shot down six Indian fighter jets before a US-brokered ceasefire took effect.
“We do not hide when confronting the enemy,” Munir said. “We challenge openly.”
