The United States-Funded Hydropower Project Brings Light to Pakistani Homes

Dr. Jassim Taqui DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, 6 December, U.S. Ambassador Donald Blome joined Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif at Mangla Hydro Power Station today to celebrate the completion of a $150 Million U.S.-funded project to refurbish and improve the station’s power generation capacity. The project adds 300 megawatts of additional power to the station’s capacity, enough to provide power to 100,000 households and 2 million Pakistanis. The U.S.-funded project in collaboration with private firms and the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) is the latest project in a long history of U.S. assistance to help Pakistan develop clean, renewable energy.

“This project builds upon the foundational partnership of the original construction. We are proud of our enduring efforts to help extend Mangla Dam’s useful service as a reliable source of clean energy and irrigation water,” said Ambassador Blome. “When Mangla Dam was built in the 1960s by U.S. engineering firms, it was one of the largest earth-filled dams in the world. Not only is it an impressive achievement in engineering, but it is also an excellent example of the Green Alliance between the United States and Pakistan.”

The United States invested in Pakistan’s electrification more than 50 years ago, constructing dams and hydropower plants that continue to provide reliable, efficient, and clean energy today. These projects dramatically increased Pakistan’s electricity capacity – today powering the homes of more than 50 million people. The dams also help to prevent catastrophic water shortages, mitigate the effects of flooding and expand agricultural productivity. The Mangla and Tarbela Dams alone can store about 10 percent of the water passing through Pakistan. Gomal Zam Dam irrigation doubled agricultural output in the surrounding area, providing food and economic opportunities to thousands of people, and helped save lives and livelihoods during the recent flooding.