China-backed Diamer-Bhasha dam will serve as future lifeline for Pakistan: LCCI chief

Lahore: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) chief President Mian Nauman Kabir has said China-backed Diamer-Bhasha dam will serve as future lifeline for the country, improve energy mix, curtail huge oil import bill and bring down the cost of doing business.

Welcoming the setting up of deadline for Diamer-Bhasha dam by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from 2029 to 2026-27, LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir expressed the concern that despite having been enriched with all resources for water, which is called white gold throughout the world, Pakistan is one of those countries where water scarcity is getting severe.

Speaking to journalists here, he stressed that Pakistan was in a dire need of energy mix, to curtail the huge oil import bill and to bring down the cost of doing business as these issues are hampering the economic growth.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had mentioned that Diamer-Bhasha dam would serve as future lifeline for the country’s economy, augmenting the power generation, besides boosting agriculture activities.

In his comments after a briefing over the construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Diamer, the PM directed the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) to coordinate the project’s work with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). “International investors should come forward to support the project,” he added. Chinese and Pakistani engineers were among the audience.

On 13 May 2020, the Pakistani government had signed a Pakistani Rs 442 billion contract with a joint venture of China Power and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) for the construction of the dam. The contract was awarded after China agreed to lend money for the project.

LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir emphasized that water storage capacity of the country has gone down horribly and those people are responsible who are opposing the important water and power projects. He observed that Pakistan was an agrarian country and cannot afford water dearth at any cost.

Kabir noted that country was dependent on only two big dams including Tarbela and Mangla. “It is a matter of concern that water storage capacity of the two dams has been reduced significantly and situation would be more concerning with the passage of time,” he added.

The LCCI chief said that the lack of storage reservoirs and wastage are the biggest reasons of terrible water shortage in the country.

He warned that Pakistan can hardly escape from becoming a big desert, unless drastic measures were not taken instantly. He underscored that sufficient availability of water was must for sustainable development but in Pakistan per capita availability of water was decreasing because “we have water but not enough reservoirs for storage.”

The LCCI President underlined that with every passing year, Pakistan was getting close to the brink of mass starvation because of a drastic cut in water availability from 5,000 cubic meters per capita in 1950s to around 1000 cubic meters.

He said that these facts call for establishing water reservoirs in the whole country which will enhance the capacity of water storage. He predicted that the same reservoirs will come handy in case of low and medium floods.

The LCCI President stated that after every two to three years “we have to face emergency situation due to floods in Pakistan that adversely affect our economy and push us back many years.”

He pointed out that Pakistan’s economy was heavily reliant on agriculture sector. “This sector engages almost 45% of our work force. Our leading manufacturing sector is textiles, which gets basic input from agriculture and without water, this sector cannot survive,” he added.

Kabir remarked that 4500 MW project Diamer-Bhasha dam was of immense importance for the national economy. “The deadline of 2026-27 instead of 2029 set by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is a very good sign as the project would bring a revolution in power and agriculture sectors,” he contended.