Lahore—WAPDA chairman, Shakil Durrani has said the authority decided to deploy state-of-the-art tunnel boring machines (TBMs) for on-schedule completion of strategically important 969 MW-Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project. “Deployment of TBMs on the project will reduce the construction period by about two years resulting in an estimated benefit of Rs 90 billion,” he added.
During his visit to Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project, he said the Neelum Jhelum was a priority project of WAPDA’s low-cost energy generation plan. Since completion of the project was vital for the country, he said, Wapda is taking all possible measures for the purpose, including deployment of two TBMs, on the project. “The TBMs, being imported from Germany by the contractor, are expected to reach Pakistan by January 2012,” Durrani added.
Lauding efforts of the project authorities, the WAPDA chairman said that completion of the tunnel to divert River Neelum was a landmark in implementation of the project. The diversion tunnel was completed in October in record time of two years.
Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Company CEO/MD, briefing the Chairman, said the overall progress on the project stands at 27 per cent. He said about 17-kilometer long tunnels had so far been completed. These include both access and main tunnels. He also briefed the chairman about excavation work on the powerhouse and the main tunnels and piling for the composite dam. It is pertinent to mention that Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project is being constructed on River Neelum in Azad Jammu & Kashmir. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2016. On completion, the project will provide about 5.15 billion units of electricity annually to the national grid. Benefits of the project have been estimated at Rs 45 billion per annum. The project will pay back its cost in about seven years.
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکِستان) is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west,India in the east and China in the far northeast.[7] Tajikistan also lies very close to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Strategically, Pakistan is located in a position between the important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the greater Middle East.[8]
The region forming modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures including theneolithic Mehrgarh and the bronze era Indus Valley Civilisation. Subsequently it was the recipient of Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, and Sikh cultures through several invasions and/or settlements. As a result the area has remained a part of numerous empires and dynasties including the Indian empires, Persian empires, Arab caliphates, Mongol,Mughal, Sikh and British Empire. Pakistan gained independence from the British Empire in 1947 after a struggle for independence, led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that sought the partition of India and the creation of an independent state for the Muslim majority populations of the eastern and western regions of British India.[9] With the adoption of its constitution in 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic republic.[10] In 1971, an armed conflict in East Pakistan resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.[11]
Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of four provinces and four federal territories. With over 170 million people, it is the sixth most populous country in the world[2] and has the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia.[12] It is an ethnically andlinguistically diverse country with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. With a semi-industrialized economy, it is the 27th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power. Since gaining independence, Pakistan's history has been characterised by periods of military rule,political instability and conflicts with neighbouring India. The country faces challenging problems including terrorism, poverty, illiteracy and corruption.
Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed force and is the only Muslim-majority nation to possess nuclear weapons. It is designated as a major non-NATO ally of the United States and a strategic ally of China.[13][14] It is a founding member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation)[15] and a member of the United Nations,[16] Commonwealth of Nations,[17] Next Eleven economies and the G20 developing nations.
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