PM Imran performs groundbreaking of Mohmand Dam; attends Sport Gala in Tirah Valley

PESHAWAR – Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar performed groundbreaking ceremony of Mohmand Dam on Thursday afternoon.

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Dr. Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shah Farman and Chief Minister Mahmood Khan were also present on the occasion.

Wapda Chairman Lt Gen (Retd) Muzamil Hussain and project director of the dam briefed the Prime Minister about salient features of the project.

Mohmand Dam

On completion, the dam will generate an estimated annual energy of about 2862GWh besides an active water storage reservoir of about 1.2MAF in addition to bringing about 17,000 acres barren land under cultivation directly.

Mohmand dam is being constructed on River Swat about 48 kilometers from Peshawar at confluence of Mohmand and Charsadda district and the dam’s reservoir area extends upstream to Mohmand, Bajaur and other northern districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Moreover, the project will supply 13.32 million cubic meter water from Mohmand Dam reservoir to Peshawar City for drinking purposes.

The dam will also address the long awaited problem of water scarcity in Mohmand district and will save Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera and other districts from floods in future.

This mega project is the initiative of the Federal Government, which carried huge potential to meet Pakistan’s energy and water requirements in terms of electricity generation and irrigation besides provision of clean drinking water to inhabitants of Peshawar.

The project is scheduled to be completed in five years i.e. 2024 with an estimated cost of Rs183billion and on completion will store around 1.2 million acre feet (MAF) of water and generate 800 Megawatts (MW) of hydel electricity.

It will alleviate poverty by providing job opportunities to thousands of people besides locals in the project area and its annual benefits are estimated about Rs51.6 billion for the country.

Its construction will help national power policy achieve the dual goals of meeting Pakistan’s energy needs in a sustainable manner and ensuring generation of affordable electricity, while helping to reduce existing energy’s demand and supply gap.

Construction of 213 meters high Mohmand Dam will alleviate risk of flood damages to great extend in future. The water reservoir would also control river flow and minimize intensity of floods downstream, therefore, the reservoir would be a great source of flood’s protection and will save soil from fertile land from erosion.

Around 8675 acres land are being acquired for construction of requisite infrastructure at the dam site besides 56 kilometers long reservoir, irrigation network and re-regulation pond area.

Sports Gala in Tirah Valley

Earlier today, PM Imran Khan arrived in Tirah Valley of Khyber District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He attended the concluding ceremony of Sport Gala as a chief guest there.

Prime Minister Imran Khan visits Tirah in District Khyber. An area previously associated with sad news of terrorism has now transformed back into the beautiful region it used to be before War on Terror. PM Khan is a special guest at a Sports Gala being organized in Tirah. pic.twitter.com/yqY9s6BdTS

— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 2, 2019

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman and KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan are also present in the event.

The event remarks restoration of peace in the region following the merger of Fata into KP as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led federal government aims to promote sports, education and health services in tribal areas.