The World Bank Board of Directors has approved further $700 million for Dasu Hydropower Project. The project will be financed from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), with a variable spread, and 25 years maturity including a five-year grace period.
The additional financing for Dasu Hydropower Stage I Project will finance the transmission line to complete the first phase of the Dasu Hydropower Plant that will install 2,160MW capacity along the main Indus River. Plans for stage-II expansion will double the installed capacity to 4,320MW, making Dasu the largest hydropower plant in the country.
Dasu Hydropower Project (DHP) is about eight kilometres Upper Kohistan KPK, and about 350 kilometres from Islamabad. The total project of 4,320MW is being developed in a staged design.
The DHP-I, currently under implementation, has an installed capacity of 2,160MW and will generate over 12,000GWh of renewable low-cost energy for supply to the central grid. Stage-II will add another 2,160MW. Dasu hydropower station will produce electricity at $0.03/kWh compared to Pakistan’s current average cost of electricity generation of $0.08/kWh and will provide most of its electricity during the summer months to reduce blackouts when the demand is the highest.
