ISLAMABAD: The cost of Pakistan’s Dasu Hydropower Project (Stage-I) has skyrocketed to a staggering Rs1.7 trillion ($6.2 billion), making it the country’s most expensive hydropower scheme to date. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP), chaired by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, referred the revised proposal to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval—pending cost rationalisation and responses from WAPDA.
Originally approved at Rs486 billion in 2014, the project’s cost has jumped by 240%, raising the per-megawatt cost from Rs236 million to Rs804 million. By comparison, the Tarbela 5th Extension costs Rs148 million per megawatt.
Minister Iqbal voiced concerns over the “astronomical increase” in cost, attributing it to project delays, poor management, and design changes without prior approvals. Despite repeated ECNEC instructions, WAPDA failed to appoint a full-time project director or a professional CFO—raising questions over financial oversight. Moreover, the awarding of a road contract in foreign currency was labeled “criminal negligence.”
WAPDA now seeks over $1 billion in additional foreign funding from the World Bank and commercial lenders, plus Rs350 billion in domestic loans. Of WAPDA’s Rs289 billion equity, Rs98 billion has already gone toward interest during construction.
With only 23.6% of core dam works and 15% of underground structures complete, the project is now expected to finish by 2028—four years behind schedule. The revised PC-I also includes land acquisition, resettlement, access roads, and a new 132 kV transmission line.
Despite the cost escalation, the government emphasized the project’s strategic value for national water and food security and green energy transition.
Story by Shahbaz Rana
