Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reportedly approved ‘in principle’ financing for the 4500MW Diamer Bhasha Dam on the Indus River.
Radio Pakistan reported that the Prime Minister signed off the financing plan presented by the Secretary of Water and Power which would see the project’s dam financing by PSDP allocations and WAPDA generated resources, while the power generation aspects of the scheme would be financed on a commercial basis by the Ministry either through WAPDA or through leasing its existing projects.
The $14 million project has faced a number of hurdles over the last few years. India has objected to the dam’s development, while both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have both refused to provide project finance for the scheme.
If all funding gets the go ahead, dam construction is likely to start before the end of 2017.
