Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has strongly opposed the exchange of Neelum Jhelum Surcharge (NJS) of 10 Paisa per unit for development of Diamer Basha Dam (DBD). AS the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project is a stand-alone project with a separate legal and corporate status in comparison with the Diamer Basha Dam, the tariff procedure of NJHPC is entirely different from the procedure adopted by Nepra. Moreover, the capital structure of Diamer-Bhasha Dam (DBD) is different from that of Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project with base cost of DBD Rs 1.283 trillion. As per the documentation, the federal government will provide Rs 398 billion as Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) grant. However, Wapda would have to inject Rs 199 billion as equity along with Rs 686 billion would be raised through commercial financing. Without the backing of Wapda’s balance sheet, it would be very challenging to obtain commercial financing for the DBD Company thereby endangering the financial close of the project.
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