Pakistan awards Chinese firm two Dasu dam contracts

Pakistan awards Chinese firm two Dasu dam contracts (ठेके)

The Government of Pakistan has awarded the China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) two civil engineering contracts in the first stage of the Dasu hydropower project worth Rs.180 billion. According to the Dawn, the contracts are for the main dam, appurtenant(संबंधित) structures and hydraulic steel structures (MW-01) worth Rs.115 billion and construction of underground power complex, tunnels and hydraulic structures (MW-02) worth Rs.64 billion. The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and the CGGC signed the two agreements. Dasu Project Director Javed Akhtar and CGGC representative Tan Bixuan signed the contracts in the presence of Water and Power Minister Khwaja Mohammad Asif. Once completed in 2021, the project is expected to generate over 2,100 megawatts of power. Minister Asif described the agreement as a new era of cheap electricity generation.