Pakistan to boost Warsak hydropower generation by 375MW

A second underground power house will add 375MW to the existing 250MW Warsak hydropower station.

A joint venture group comprising Canada's RSWI and Pakistan's DEC will collaborate with the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority ( WAPDA)  to complete the project.

Team leader, Claudio Vissa, said at a meeting at WAPDA House that with the addition of the new underground powerhouse, the Warsak power station will contribute more than 1.6bn units of electricity to the national grid against the present contribution of around 900m units.

WAPDA Chairman Shakil Durrani said that the new Warsak Hydropower Project was a component of the two-pronged strategy being implemented by WAPDA on priority for optimal utilisation of the water resource. Besides constructing new hydropower projects, rehabilitation and up-gradation of the old hydel power stations are also being carried out under the strategy to help inject low-cost hydel electricity to the national grid, he added.

Located on the River Kabul and 30km from Peshawar, the project was completed in two phases in 1981.

Four units with a total electricity generation capacity of 160MW were installed in 1960 in the first phase, while two more units of 83MW were added in 1981 as part of the second phase, raising the total capacity to around 250MW.

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