Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar accompanied by other honorable Judges of the apex court, and a delegation comprising foreign and local water experts, who attended the International Symposium “ Creating Water-Secure Pakistan” visited Mangla Dam – the largest water reservoir in Pakistan. They were received by Chairman WAPDA Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain (Retd) and other senior officers.
The Delegation was briefed about the steps WAPDA had taken to increase the capacity of the water reservoir and ensure its longevity. In 1967 when the project was completed it had the capacity of 5.88 million acre feet (MAF) which had reduced to 4.6 MAF by 2004 due to natural sedimentation. Consequently the Mangla Dam Raising Project was initiated in 2004 for maximizing the water potential of River Jhelum. It was completed in 2009 increasing the water storage capacity of Mangla Reservoir to 7.4 MAF with an addition of 2.88 MAF. Resultantly, Mangla Dam surpassed the water storage capacity of Tarbela Dam and became the largest water reservoir in the country.
Mangla Hydel Power Station attained its maximum generation capacity of 1000 MW in 1994 after the completion of installation of units 1 to 10. In view of the aging factor of the generating equipment and availability of additional water due to the raised Mangla Dam, WAPDA is now executing Mangla Refurbishment Project. On completion of the project, the generation capacity of Mangla Hydel Power Station will increase to 1310 MW.
The Life of Mangla Dam had been initially estimated to be 100-115 years. However effective watershed techniques adopted by WAPDA and completion of Mangla Dam Raising Project have increased the life of Mangla reservoir to 269 years.
