Excavation work for Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Project (NJHEP)starts

[LahoreEstate]

Saturday, February 21, 2009
By our correspondent

LAHORE: Excavation of a 47km-long network of tunnels, one of the main works for the 969-megawatt Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Project (NJHEP), has started at the project site near Muzaffarabad in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The tunnel network is meant for diversion of Neelem river water to outfall into the Jhelum river near Chattar Kalas. A statement issued here said NJHEP General Manager Hasnain Afzal and a representative of Islamic Development Bank witnessed the blasting of rocks for excavation.

The Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Project is of immense importance as it would inject low-cost hydel electricity into the national grid. The IDB and other Middle Eastern donors have already agreed to finance the project.

The contract for the hydropower project was awarded to a Chinese consortium comprising China Gezhouba Group Company and China Machinery Import & Export Corporation. Preparatory works like access roads, offices and colonies for contractors and consultants started last year while main works have begun with the tunnel activity. Total cost of the project has been estimated at Rs130 billion. On its completion, the project will contribute 5.15 billion electricity units annually to the national grid.

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