The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) awarded a Rs. 10.6 billion contract for the civil and electro-mechanical rehabilitation of the Dargai Hydel Power Station. The contract was given to a Joint Venture (JV) consisting of two Chinese firms, M/s Jinlun and M/s Shuntai, and a Pakistani firm, M/s Al-Fajr International.
Constructed in 1952 and having served for 72 years, the Dargai Hydel Power Station, located in Malakand, will undergo rehabilitation to continue its operation. The JV will complete the rehabilitation within three years. The contract was signed by WAPDA’s General Manager (Hydel Development), Ihsan Ullah, and the authorized representative of the JV, Nabeel Tahir.
The contract signing ceremony was attended by WAPDA Chairman, Engr Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani (Retd), Member (Power) Jamil Akhtar, Member (Finance) Naveed Asghar Chaudhry, along with WAPDA officers, representatives of the French Development Agency (AFD), consultants, and contractors.
Upon completion, the Dargai Hydel Power Station will generate 22 MW of green and clean hydel electricity, providing 130 million units of low-cost hydel electricity to the National Grid annually.
The rehabilitation and capacity enhancement of the Dargai Hydel Power Station are being carried out with financial support from the French Development Agency (AFD). This project is an important part of WAPDA’s two-pronged strategy for the optimal utilization of hydropower resources in Pakistan, which involves constructing new hydropower projects and rehabilitating and upgrading existing hydel power stations to maximize the ratio of environmentally friendly and low-cost hydel electricity in the National Grid.
