Mohmand Dam would be the fifth-highest concrete-face-rock-fill dam in the world would be completed by 2025 with estimated cost of Rs 309.56 billion.
The dam would irrigate 18,237 acres more land besides supplementing 160,000 acres of existing land after completion, said an official of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) while talking to APP.
The dam is being constructed on River Swat about five kilometers upstream of Munda Headworks in Mohmand district and is considered a vital contribution towards the water, food and energy security of Pakistan.
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The dam would also provide 300 million gallons of water daily to Peshawar. The dam will protect Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera from floods, he added.
He said dam would provide 2.86 billion units of electricity to the national grid and the annual revenue from power generation is expected at Rs 45.76 billion. The overall annual benefits of the project stand at Rs 51 billion.
3. Mohmand Dam (800 MW, 1.29 MAF storage, to be completed by 2025) where the PM went this week, is particularly significant for Peshawar valley, irrigating 15000 acres of land, helping provide Peshawar's water future, and helping prevent floods in Nowshera and Mardan. pic.twitter.com/47eGLXp3bq
— Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra (@Jhagra) May 22, 2021
He said the irrigation component of the dam would have an annual benefit of Rs 2.23 billion, water supply to Peshawar would have Rs 957 million monetary value while flood mitigation benefits were estimated at Rs1.467 billion.
Mohmand Dam to get SAR 901 million funding from Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has approved a funding of 901 million Saudi Riyal (Rs34 billion) for the construction of Mohmand Hydropower Dam, national media outlets reported quoting Kingdom’s Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf Bin Said Al-Maliki on Wednesday.
According to an official statement issued by the ministry, Saudi Arabia Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf Bin Said Al-Maliki met the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Omar Ayub Khan Wednesday.
Besides this, the meeting also had a discussion on the success of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
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He said that funding of 901 million Saudi Riyal was approved for the construction of Mohmand Dam from the Saudi Development Fund. “The funding is for 25 years, and an interest rate of two percent will be charged on it,” said the envoy of Saudi Arabia.
Omar Ayub assured the Saudi envoy Nawaf Bin Said Al-Maliki of the early utilization of funds so that the construction of the project could be expedited. “Our government is focusing on environment-friendly and affordable energy through the development of solar, wind, and hydel resources”, he said.
APP with additional input by GVS News Desk