LAHORE: Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) says delays in completion of various hydropower projects have been overcome and now these schemes are fast heading towards finishing point.

`The long-delayed Kachhi Canal Project (Phase-I) had been completed in August 2017 to irrigate 72,000 acres of barren land in Dera Bugti district of Balochistan. Similarly, the work on various other projects is under way,` Wapda chairman retired Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain said while giving a briefing to the Federal Minister for Ministry of Energy (Water Resources Division) Syed Javaid Ali Shah at a meeting heldhere on Wednesday.

The chairman said 2,487MW low-cost hydel electricity would be added to the National Grid by early to mid 2018 with completion of three hydropower projects in a phased manner. These are Neelum-Jhelum, Tarbela 4th Extension and Golen Gol.

`Delayed for decades, construction work on two mega multi-purpose projects -Diamer Bhasha Dam and Mohmand Dam -will commence next year. And on completion, both projects will provide gross water storage capacity of more than 9 million acre feet (MAF) in addition to generating 5,300MW electricity,` he said.

He said the authority was fully focused on optimal utilisation of water and hydropower resources to meet the increasing requirement of water andelectricity in the country. By implementing a multi-pronged strategy for about last one year, Wapda has been able to turn around the situation, the chairman claimed.

Wapda is currently implementing seven projects in water and hydropower sector s with cumulative generation capacity of 9,294MW. As many as eight projects with power generation capacity of 16,296 MW are ready for construction, while about a dozen projects are at the stage of feasibility study and detailed engineering design.

The minister appreciated Wapda`s efforts to complete long-delayed water and hydropower projects besides initiating construction work on a number of new projects.

GRID STATION: The newly-con-structed 500/200kV substation started functioning in Phoolnagar on Wednesday after the National Transmission and Despatch Company`s of ficials energised it along with the project management staff of a Chinese company.

An air-insulated substation namely New Lahore 500/200kV grid station is the first ever project of its kind having a bay control unit.

The advance features of the substation automation system will help operations and maintenance staf f control and monitor the system automatically, Wei Zhijun, project manager of the China National Electric Engineering Company (CNEEC) told Dawn.

The project will share the load of the existing 500kv Lahore Substation besides evacuating the power fromBaloki Power House. It will give relief to the 220kv New Kot Lakhpat-1 and 2 grid stations, 220kV Wapda Town substation and 220kV Ghazi Road and several distribution grids of 132kV in Lahore and the adjoining areas. It will improve voltage in residential as well as industrial area of Lahore.

The contract for the project was signed between NTDC and the CNEEC on June 12, 2012, but the work started in 2013 due to delay in land acquisition. Later, the work on this Rs4 billion scheme, which was funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, gathered the steam in 2014.

`We feel pleasure to complete this important mega project, which has seven transformers of 250MVA,` Mr Zhijun said.