Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a world class mega hydro project and participating in this project is a huge challenge, Yang Haiyan, deputy chief engineer of the Chinese company, Bei Fang Investigation, Design and Research Co Ltd (BIDR) said.
The company had signed a contract last month to join the consulting team of the dam. It was designed as 272 meters height which will be the highest roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam in the world. “The dam will exceed the height of Three Gorges Dam in China (185m), Hoover Dam in US (221m), and even Itaipu Dam in Brazil (225m),” she said in interview.
Besides, the designed crest length of Diamer-Bhasha Dam is 1006.5 m which can rank among the world class dams as well. The dam has a normal capacity of 10 billion cubic meters and a regulated (effective) capacity of 7.89 billion cubic meters, according to China Economic Net.
Both its installed gross capacity of 4,500MW and average annual energy output of 1.84 trillion watt-hours also rank among the first class of the world.
In addition to its scale, dam’s technical difficulties can be considered as “world class” as well. In the 1980s, Pakistan’s government has started to invite experts to design and consult on the dam. However, due to its technical difficulties are rare in the world, the project has been mired in decades of preparation.
Facing such a difficult work, Yang has showed confidence. “Since 2003, we have worked for water conservancy construction in Pakistan for 18 years. We have taken part in investigation and design of almost all of the hydropower projects in Pakistan, such as Tarbela Dam, Kohala Dam, Suki Kinari, Gomal Zam Dam, Neelam-Jhelum and so on.”
“China’s ability on water conservancy construction is built on years of practices. With our knowledge and experience, we will do our best to live up to Pakistan’s trust,” Yang said.
The construction of dam will create 16,500 jobs and consume a huge quantity of cement and steel, which will give boost to the local industry. The main purpose of the dam was water storage and production of 4,500MW cheap and affordable electricity for meeting the country’s energy requirements.
