The Diamer Basha Dam Project is set to reach a new milestone, with roller compacted concrete (RCC) work on the main dam scheduled to start in early 2026. This will follow the completion of RCC trials and excavation work on the dam’s abutment and foundation by the end of this year.
Chairman WAPDA Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed recently visited the project, located on the River Indus 40 km downstream of Chilas town. During the visit, the Chairman inspected key sites, including the crushing plant, diversion tunnel, dam pit and abutments, cofferdams, left bank flushing tunnel, RCC trial section, RCC batching plant, crushing tunnel, and conveyor belt tunnel. The project team briefed him that construction is ongoing simultaneously on 13 work fronts. The river diversion system, including the diversion tunnel and canal, has been operating successfully during the current high-flow season.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chairman urged contractors to deploy additional resources for accelerating construction work, so that the targets could be achieved as per the timelines. He also directed the WAPDA team and consultants to “adopt a pro-active approach for removing bottlenecks in the scheduled completion of the project.” Security arrangements for the project were also discussed.
Lt Gen Saeed also visited Cadet College Chilas, completed by WAPDA at a cost of Rs. 2.1 billion as part of corporate social responsibility initiatives. WAPDA has spent Rs. 78.5 billion on resettlement of affected communities and development projects in health, education, and infrastructure. Priority employment is being given to local residents.
Diamer Basha Dam is set to be the world’s tallest RCC dam at 272m. It will have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1 million acre-feet, irrigating 1.23 million acres. With an installed power generation capacity of 4,500MW, the project will supply 18 billion units of green electricity annually to the national grid.
