Proposed Project for USAID - Wapda

WATER AND POWER SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
� Irrigated agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan's economy. The agriculture sector is the major user of water
and its consumption will continue to dominate the water requirements. Direct rainfall contributes less than 15
percent of the water supplied to the crops. The major user of water for irrigation is the Indus Basin Irrigation
System. About 105 Million Acres Feet (MAF) out of 155 MAF of surface water is being diverted annually for
irrigation while around 48 MAF is pumped from ground.
� Pakistan has a total of 197 million acres (MA) area out of which 73 MA is cultivable. The cultivated area
(Irrigated & Barani) is 52 MA, whereas 48 MA is irrigated. With large cultivable land base of 73 MA of which
only 27 MA is canal commanded, Pakistan still has the potential of bringing about 20 MA of rain fed land
under irrigation.
� With increased population, Pakistan is fast heading towards a situation of serious water crises. Per capita
surface water availability was 5,260 cubic meters in 1951 when population was 34 million, which has reduced
to 1,038 cubic meter in 2010 when the estimated population is 172 million.
� Due to excessive sediment inflows in the river water, all the three storages (Tarbela, Mangla, Chashma) are
rapidly losing their capacities. By the year 2025, these storages would lose 37% (6.27 MAF) of their capacity
which virtually means loss of one mega storage project.
� An annual average of over 32 MAF water escapes below Kotri varying from 0.3 to 92 MAF. However this
surplus water is available for about 70-100 days of summers only. To save and utilize available water,
construction of additional storage facilities is essential for sustainable irrigated agriculture which supports
about 70% of the population of Pakistan.
� At present the installed power generation capacity is 20,982 MW. However, the dependable capacity is
19,421 MW out of which 6,516 is being produced through Hydropower, 3,580 by Government (GENCOs),
9637 by Independent Private Power Producers (IPPs) and Private Rental. Gap in demand and supply which
rose to 5,000 MW in summer depicts acute power crises. The demand of power is currently about 20,000
MW which will rise to 36,000 MW in the year 2015. In order to bridge the energy gap the new hydropower
projects are of vital importance.
� At present the hydel/thermal mix is 32:68% whereas it should be the other way round. Though induction of
thermal generation initially helped in overcoming load shedding, it resulted in substantial increase in power
tariff. Therefore, a sizeable injection of cheaper hydropower through multipurpose storages is the only viable
option to keep the cost of electricity within affordable limits.
� It is an economically unsustainable fact that the total water storages capacity in the country is only 15 MAF
representing 13% of the total annual flows of 136 MAF. To address this problem the Government of Pakistan
(GoP) is developing feasibility and detailed engineering studies for nearly 20 MAF of water storage and
25,000 MW of hydel power.
� To facilitate the process of economic development and to ensure greater economic and social stabilization in
Pakistan, it is imperative that employment creation and poverty reduction issues are addressed on priority.
Additional water storages and power generation would form the basis of this strategy during the next decade.
In the next few years: (i) Construction of large dams including Diamer-Basha during 2011 (ii)
Construction of Medium/Small Water Storage Dams (iii) Construction of Canals (iv) Construction of
Transmission Lines for dispersal of Power from Hydropower Project to Load Centres of National Grid
would be priority issues. These projects would create additional water storages, generate cheap
indigenously developed electricity and prevent flood damages. All these measures would also ensure food
security, employment generation and above all poverty alleviation.
� Due to financial constraints, WAPDA has received only Rs. 9.5 billion out of its allocation of Rs. 27.5 billion
under the PSDP for the year 2009-10 which indicates that the ongoing projects would be delayed, resulting in
cost overrun and denying the desired benefits. The financial constraints continued in FY 2010-11 and 2011-
12 when PSDP was reduced from Rs.15.365 Billion to Rs.9.693 Billion and Rs.20.115 Billion out of which
11.977 Billion has been released so far. In view of this financial constraint, WAPDA has made efforts in
generating financial resources during the current year for its projects which are of critical national importance.
USAID has signed agreement with WAPDA Repair and Maintenance of Units 1,3 &4 of Tarbela Power House
US$ 16.5 million in year 2010. Besides it also signed Gomal Zam (Power & Irrigation Portion) and Satpara
Dam (Power Portion) on 7.1.2011 & 5.10.2011 for providing US$ 80 million and US$ 26 million
respectively. USAID has released US$ 50.089 million for Gomal Zam Dam, US$ 21.485 Million for
Satpara Dam Project and US$ 10.210 Million for Repair & Maintenance of Units 1,3 & 4 of Tarbela Dam
Project. The assistance from USAID came at the most appropriate time helping WAPDA to complete these
projects. In addition WAPDA has proposed Diamer Basha Dam, Kurram Tangi Dam, Upgradation of Mangla
and Warsak Power Stations and Training and Capacity Building as new projects for the assistance from
USAID.
4