WASHINGTON: The World Bank has approved $1 billion in a second round of additional financing for the DASU Hydropower Stage I (DHP I) Project, a statement said on Monday.
According to a press statement issued by the world Bank, Board of Executive Directors approved $1 billion in a second round of additional financing for the DASU Hydropower Stage I Project. It added that the financing will support the expansion of hydropower electricity supply, enhance access to socio-economic services for local communities, and build the Water and Power Development Authority’s (WAPDA) capacity to develop future hydropower projects.
Najy Benhassine, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan said that Pakistan’s energy sector suffers from multiple issues to achieving affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. Najy Benhassine said that the DASU Hydropower Project site is one of the best hydropower sites across the world and is a game changer for the Pakistan energy sector. With a very small footprint, the project will contribute to ‘greening’ the energy sector and also lowering the cost of electricity, Najy Benhassine said”
DASU Hydropower Project is a run-of-river project on the Indus River around 8 km from Dasu Town, the Upper Kohistan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
Upon completion of the project, it will have an installed capacity of 4,320–5,400 MW and the project is being built in stages. DASU Hydropower Project-I has a capacity of 2,160 MW and will produce 12,225 gigawatt hours (GWh)/year of low-cost renewable energy. The DASU Hydropower Project-II will add 9,260–11,400 GWh per year from the same dam.
According to the World Bank statement, the additional financing will further support the current socio-economic initiatives in Upper Kohistan, especially in the areas of health, education, employment, and transport. Through this project adult literacy has also increased by an estimated 30 percent since 2012, boys’ schooling increased by 16 percent while girls’ schooling has increased by 70 percent during this period.
DASU Hydropower Project will also continue current community development activities on irrigation schemes, roads, medical facilities, schools, bridges, solar energy systems, mosques, and science laboratories and libraries, all with a particular focus on women beneficiaries, including the formation of free healthcare clinics, camps with women doctors, nurses, trainings for female health workers, trainings on livelihoods and literacy for women, and awareness-raising programs on hygiene and health.
