Anwar Ahmad Khan, Secretary Ministry Water & Power, Philippe Thiébaud, Ambassador of France and Grégory Clémente, Vice-President Asia of French Development Agency (AFD) inaugurated the Jabban Hydropower plant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday.
Jabban Hydropower Project is located on Swat canal in Malakand Division. This run-of-river hydropower plant was built in 1937, and as such it is the oldest large hydropower plant in Pakistan. It discontinued its production after a fire broke out in November 2006.
The infrastructure was rehabilitated and the capacity of the project increased from 19 MW to 22 MW. During construction, 200 people were employed at the worksite, directly benefiting local population of Malakand District. After rehabilitation, the plant will employ 50 workers, and will provide electricity to more than 240,000 people.
The total cost of the project was estimated at 25 million euro (Rs 3.4 billion). On July 2009, AFD signed with Government of Pakistan a soft loan of 26.5 million euro, out of which 25 million euro is allocated for the Jabban Project, and 1.5 million euro for building capacities on the hydropower sector. This loan is being implemented by Wapda, AFD’s main partner in the country. The Jabban Project, constructed by a Pakistani company, should deliver its full capacity to the grid by September 2013, without expected over cost or delays.
As a member of the group of Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP), France is very sensitive to the welfare of the Pakistani population and is committed to implementing sustainable development projects in renewable energy and in water sectors. The exceptional potential of the country in terms of hydropower, as well as the success of this first operation, encourages France and Pakistan to jointly engage in other projects in the future. AFD Group is fully committed in promoting sustainable hydropower in Pakistan, in close co-operation with public and private operators, through co-financing with, among other donors, European Union and German co-operation. AFD has already committed funding for the studies of the multipurpose Mohmand/Munda Dam Project, as well as for the construction of the Jaggran-II and Harpo hydropower projects.-PR Business Recorder, 2013
