Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that completion of the 4500MW Diamer-Bhasha dam project will serve as future lifeline for country’s economy, augmenting power generation and boosting agriculture activities, and has urged for the project to be completed ahead of schedule.

During a visit to the dam construction site, the PM said he hoped the project could be completed by 2026-2027, ahead of its scheduled completion date of 2029, although he acknowledged it would be a major task and assured extra support from the federal government to complete the project as early as possible.

Diamer-Bhasha dam will be a multi-purpose project once complete. Besides generating 18,100GWh of power annually, it will play a vital role in water storage capacity in the country, save Tarbela dam from deposits of sediments and enhance its life span by 35 years, control flash floods, enhance agricultural productivity, and create jobs opportunities in the area

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressing engineers and labourers at the Diamer-Bhasha dam construction site on 17 April 2022