Pakistan is blessed with the fertility of the land. It has the capacity to produce a variety of organic products. The land is well-known to be agricultural land. But much of the land is still uncultivated and barren due to the unavailability of water supply. By looking into it Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman Muzammil Hussain suggested that around 20 million acres of uncultivated land can be brought under irrigation if water is made available by constructing dams.
The chairman revealed that the authority was executing a number of megaprojects, which would be completed by 2029 phase by phase while talking to a delegation of the National Defence University (NDU) – National Security Workshop
According to a statement, the completion of such projects will increase the storage capacity of water up to 24 million acre-feet (MAF) from 13 MAF, an addition of around 11 MAF, which will help irrigate about 1.6 million acres of land. The chairman further said that in addition to ensuring water and food security Wapda is also executing a hydroelectric power generation expansion plan to help the country achieve energy security.
Moreover, he remarked that “We do not just need electricity, but we need cheap electricity to keep the wheels of our economy moving and tackle the ballooning circular debt faced by our energy sector.”
At present, the hydel share in the overall energy mix stood at 31% with an annual energy generation of 37 billion units. The authority plan to add 17 billion units of low-cost hydel electricity to take the total to 54 billion units by the year 2025. By 2028-29, it is aiming to increase production by 27 billion hydel units from 54 to 81 billion units.
Likewise, the chairman added more than the installed generation capacity of hydroelectric power would be increased from 9,406 megawatts to 12,366MW by 2025, and to 20,591MW by 2028-29. He also apprised the delegation of the social benefits of these projects for the people.
And also said that the development schemes worth Rs102 billion would be completed in the areas located near the project sites, under the confidence-building measures of Wapda. These projects can create employment opportunities for 35,000 people during the construction phase of the projects. He called the water and power situation daunting challenges and said “but these carry opportunities as well”. “Wapda is capitalizing on these opportunities for economic and social gains.”
The delegation was accompanied by senators, members of the National Assembly, members of provincial assemblies, civil servants, and others. It would be better to stay on one board and execute plans
