Islamabad – Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project (1410 MW), completed in 2018 by the PML (N) government, has earned the World Bank admiration for the successful implementation and effective operation. According to the World Bank Tarbela 4th completion in less than budget, estimates is very rare worldwide and in the past two years, the benefits from the project are twice its capital cost. This has been acknowledged in the World Bank Implementation Support Mission Aide Memoire, recently shared with the Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Energy – Power Division and Economic Affairs Division, Government of Pakistan.
According to WAPDA spokesman, a 7-member World Bank Mission inspected from December 1 to 8, 2020 to review the status of implementation of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project. The Mission comprised of Energy Specialist and Mission Leader, Senior Procurement Specialist, Advisor, Social Development Specialist, Environment Specialist, Operations Officer and Programme Coordinator. “The World Bank is praised for the successful implementation and effective operation of the 1410 MW-Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project, completed in 2018 in a phased manner,” said the spokesman.
Work on Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project was started in October 2013 by the previous government and it was inaugurated on March 10, 2018, by the then Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Highlighting the electricity generation and financial benefits of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project since commissioning, the World Bank Aide Memoire says “Over 12, 000 Giga Watt-hours (GWh) have been generated since commissioning in 2018.
The value of the electricity generated for the country is over $1,560 million using a value of US Cents 13/kilo Watt-hour (kWh), which is the cost of generation from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants. The benefit is about twice the capital cost of the Project”. The World Bank Aide Memoire also appreciates the success of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project saying “The Project has been very successful, starting generation on time, and with a cost about 10 per cent less than the budget estimated at the time of approval by the Bank. This is very rare for hydropower projects worldwide.”
Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project of 1410 MW (more than Mangla) has been instrumental in meeting the electricity needs of Pakistan, triggering socio-economic development in the country. With the completion of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project, the installed generation capacity of Tarbela has increased from 3478 MW to 4888 MW.
