The delegation from ADB made aware of WAPDA’s asset base, revenue sources, and creative financing plan for its projects
The chairman of WAPDA, Engineer Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani (Retd), was visited by a delegation from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) made up of five people. During the meeting, the issues pertaining to the development roadmap and the financing of WAPDA projects were discussed.
There were five executive directors in the delegation: Noor Ahmed for Pakistan, Takahiro Yasui for Japan, Veihua Liu for the People’s Republic of China, Sangmin Ryu for Korea, and Ronald Ray San Juan for the director.
Engineer Jamil Akhtar, a member of the Power WAPDA, and Member Finance WAPDA Naveed Asghar Chaudhry were also present.
The delegation was informed of WAPDA’s priority low-cost, clean, and green energy generation plan, which aims to reduce reliance on expensive thermal electricity produced with imported fuel and mitigate its unfavourable environmental effects. The delegation was also made aware of WAPDA’s asset base, revenue sources, and creative financing plan for its projects.
Along with talking about the WAPDA projects that are currently being built, specifically the Diamer Basha Dam and Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project, the delegation also received a portfolio of the projects in Thakot and Pattan that are prepared to begin construction. A briefing on the excellent financing opportunities in WAPDA projects was also given to the delegation.
The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) was created by a parliamentary act in February 1958 for the purpose of integrating and maintaining the nation’s water and power resources. In order to strengthen the nation’s primarily agricultural economy, this includes managing soil salinity and waterlogging to restore the affected land.
The duties of investigating, planning, and implementing projects and schemes for power generation, transmission, and distribution, irrigation, water supply, and drainage, the prevention of water logging and reclamation of saline land, flood control, and inland navigation have been delegated to WAPDA in accordance with the charter, which was amended in March 1959 to transfer the existing electricity departments from the federating units to it.