Neelum Jhelum project to start generating power next month

islamabad — A wet testing of the strategically important 969mw Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project will be carried out in March as 97.5 per cent work on the project has been completed.

In an interview, project’s Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Zareen said concrete work of the project had already been completed, while 98 per cent dry test of equipment has also been done.

The CEO said the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) would hand over 500kv transmission line shortly after which a feedback of switchyard would be assessed.

Zareen said water filling — pressurization of waterway system, comprising 51.5-km long tunnels, has also commenced in January. He said the project was heading towards completion and most of the works — critical in nature — had been successfully completed.

Construction of the weir (dam) of the project, waterway system, installation of electrical and mechanical equipment including turbines, generators and transformers in the power house and the switch-yard and dry-testing of these equipment had already been completed, he said.

The hydropower project is being constructed on river Neelum in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The project is an engineering marvel with 90 per cent of the project being underground in the high mountain areas.

It is worth mentioning that the project is a component of leastcost energy generation plan being implemented by Wapda on priority. It has four generating units, each of which has a capacity of 242.25mw.

The first unit will start electricity generation in March this year, followed by the second third and fourth units at one month interval respectively.

The project will provide about five billion of low-cost and environment-friendly electricity to the national grid every year. Annual benefits of the project have been estimated at Rs50 billion.