The Dasu hydropower project (DHP) includes the construction of a 4.3GW hydropower plant on the Indus River near Dasu town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, Pakistan.
The run-of-the-river hydropower project is being developed in two stages by Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). It is part of the hydropower development projects included in the Vision 2025 Programme envisaged by WAPDA in 2001 and the Power Policy 2013 of the government of Pakistan (GOP).
Recommended White Papers
Recommended Buyers Guides
A total of 12 hydropower units rated at 360MW each will be installed, six in the first phase and the remaining six in the second phase. Phase one will have an annual output capacity of 12,222 gigawatt hours (GWh), while phase two will increase the capacity to 21,700GWh.
Phase one is scheduled to be online by 2026. The project is expected to meet the power needs of four million households in Pakistan.
Location
The project is located 7km north of the town of Dasu in the Kohistan district, 350km from Islamabad. It lies 74km downstream of the Diamer Basha dam and 240km upstream of the Tarbela dam.
Dasu hydropower project development background
A feasibility study for the project was completed in 2009 and preparatory construction works for phase one commenced in May 2015.
Land acquisition and phase one construction works are currently underway. WAPDA planned to acquire a total of 9,875 acres of land, which was revised to 5,055 acres, out of which 4,630 acres were acquired.
Dasu hydropower plant details
The first phase primarily involves the construction of a hydraulic structure, roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam with ancillary structures and an underground powerhouse, installation of six turbo generators, and a double-circuit 500kV transmission line.
The second phase will involve the construction of another underground powerhouse with ancillary structures and the installation of the remaining turbo units, as well as a double-circuit 500kV transmission line.
Dasu RCC dam design details
The RCC dam will have an overall height of 242m and a crest length of 570m. It will integrate eight spillway gates, nine low-level outlets, two circular flushing tunnels, two circular headrace tunnels, four D-shaped tailrace tunnels, and two coffer dams. 12 Francis turbine generators will be installed at the plant site.
The reservoir created by the dam will be 74km long and 365m wide, with a storage capacity of 1,410 million cubic metres.
Construction details
The construction works of the main dam began in mid-2017.
Preliminary project activities for phase one primarily include the relocation of 62km of the Karakorum highway to a higher elevation, the construction of 81km of right bank access roads, and diversion tunnel inlets.
It also includes the construction of a 36km-long, 132kV transmission line from the Dubair Khwar hydropower plant to Dasu. Other ancillary activities include the construction of access roads, bridges, tunnels, offices and accommodation facilities, and the development of resettlement sites.
The construction of phase two of the relocation of KKH began in May 2022. The construction of two diversion tunnels was completed resulting in the diversion of the Indus River for the project in February 2023.
Stage one of the concrete starter dam was completed in June 2023.
Grid connection details
The output from the project was planned to be transferred to Islamabad via Mansehra for connection with the national grid via a 500kV D/C transmission line. Later, a double-circuit 765kV transmission line was finalised for the project.
Financing for phase one of the Pakistani hydropower project
Phase one of the Dasu hydropower project is estimated to require an investment of $4.6bn. The World Bank is assisting phase one with an International Development Association credit of $588.4m and an IDA Partial Credit Guarantee (PCG) of $460m.
A consortium of local banks led by HBL bank extended financing of Rs144bn ($1.03bn), the first tranche of which was released in May 2017. Credit Issue Bank agreed to offer $350m, of which the first tranche of $188m was released in June 2017. A commercial loan of $2bn is proposed to be obtained from local and foreign banks by utilising the World Bank’s PCG.
An additional loan of US$700m from the World Bank was also secured for the construction of the transmission line for the transmission of power from the project in March 2020.
Contractors involved in the Indus River hydropower plant
GE Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of General Electric, in collaboration with Powerchina Zhongnan Engineering, was contracted to supply six Francis turbines and generators for stage one of the project in May 2020.
Construction and operation of the transmission line will be performed by the National Transmission and Despatch Company. The consultancy contract for designing, engineering and construction supervision of the transmission line was awarded to the Korea Electric Power Company.
Main civil contract works are being performed by the China Gezhouba Group), a construction and engineering company. It will construct the dam and related hydraulic structures, an underground powerhouse and a right bank access road from the Dam site to Uttergah.
The feasibility study for the project was conducted jointly by Associated Consulting Engineers, National Engineering Services Pakistan, Montgomery Watson Harza Energy and Infrastructure, Colenco Power Engineering, Dolsar, and Binnie and Partners.
Nippon Koei is providing detailed engineering and consulting services for the project.
Tractebel was contracted to provide project monitoring consultancy services for the project.
The relocation of a 25km stretch of Karakorum highway and the construction of the right bank access road from Komila to the dam site are being performed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
The China Gansu International Corporation for Economic and Technical Cooperation was awarded a $36m (Rs4.9bn) contract for the construction of the project colony and associated infrastructure such as water supply and water treatment works, electrification of the colony, and roads.
The 132kV transmission line from Dubair Khwar HPP to Dasu is being constructed by Power China.
