Neelum–Jhelum Hydropower Plant
| Neelum–Jhelum Dam | |
|---|---|
Nehlum Jehlum HPP under construction
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 Location of Neelum–Jhelum Dam in Pakistan
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| Country | Pakistan |
| Location | Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir |
| Coordinates | 34°23′34″N 73°43′08″E / 34.39278°N 73.71889°ECoordinates: 34°23′34″N 73°43′08″E / 34.39278°N 73.71889°E |
| Status | Under construction |
| Construction began | 2008 |
| Opening date | July 2017 |
| Construction cost | Rs. 500 Billion ($5 billion) |
| Owner(s) | Water and Power Development Authority |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Concrete gravity |
| Impounds | Neelum River |
| Height | 47 m (154 ft) |
| Length | 125 m (410 ft) |
| Dam volume | 156,000 m3 (204,040 cu yd) |
| Reservoir | |
| Total capacity | 8,000,000 m3 (6,486 acre·ft) |
| Power station | |
| Name | Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Plant |
| Coordinates | 34°11′54″N 73°30′41″E / 34.19833°N 73.51139°E |
| Commission date | January 2018 |
| Type | Conventional, diversion |
| Hydraulic head | 420 m (1,378 ft) |
| Turbines | 4 x 242 MW Francis-type |
| Installed capacity | 968 MW |
| Annual generation | 5,150 GWh |
The Neelum–Jhelum Hydropower Plant is part of an under-construction run-of-the-river hydroelectric power scheme in Pakistan, designed to divert water from the Neelum River to a power station on the Jhelum River. The power station is located in Azad Kashmir, 22 km (14 mi) south of Muzaffarabad, and will have an installed capacity of 968 MW. Construction on the project began in 2008 after a Chinese consortium was awarded the construction contract in July 2007. The first generator is scheduled to be commissioned in July 2017 and the entire project is expected to be complete in December 2017.
After being approved in 1989, the design was improved, increasing the tunnel length and generation capacity. The project was intended to begin in 2002 and be completed in 2008 but this time-frame experienced significant delays due to problems meeting rising costs. Additionally, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake which devastated the region required a redesign of the project to conform to more stringent seismic standards.
On 7 July 2007, the Chinese consortium CGGC-CMEC (Gezhouba Group and China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation) were offered a contract to construct the dam and power station. Terms were settled by the end of the year and in January 2008, the letter of commencement was issued. On 8 February, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf announced that the project would begin. In October 2011, the diversion tunnel required to reroute the Neelum River around the dam site was completed.
On 1 November, Pakistan's Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani publicly stated his concern for the project's delay. At its appraisal in 1989, it was to cost $167 million USD (2011) and after another redesign in 2005, that cost rose to $935 million USD (2011). Currently costs have risen to $2.89 billion USD (2011). The project is being constructed under the supervision of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and funding is being achieved through the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Company, taxes, bond offerings, Middle Eastern and Chinese banks. WAPDA has successfully secured loans from a consortium of Chinese banks and from Middle East. Tunnel-boring machines (TBM) were brought to help speed up the excavation of the remaining tunnels. They became operational in February 2013. The project was 66 percent complete as of August 2013 while at the same time the diversion tunnel was 75 percent complete. US$475 million in funding was still not secured by the Economic Affairs Division at that time. In mid-2014 Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited the construction site and expressed the hope that at least one generator would be operational by mid-2015. On 24 December 2014 a wall near the diversion tunnel's intake collapsed, killing four workers including a Chinese engineer. On November 05, 2016, the project entered into terminal phase with 100 percent perfect design while achieving 85.5 percent progress and is heading towards completion despite all delays in release of funds, weather conditions, non-availability of power during early stage of construction and delays in land acquisition.
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