Washington mulling finance of PoK dam project
17 Aug 2011
The United States of America is actively mulling part-financing the construction of the giant, $13 billion Diamer Bhasha dam in Pakistan located in Pakistan-occupied –Kashmir (PoK). The project is being promoted in the US as a good chance for Washington to try and regain lost space in Pakistani goodwill.
Diamer-Bhasha Dam is an under-construction roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam on the River Indus in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. On completion it would be the highest RCC dam in the world.
The dam site is situated near a place called 'Bhasha' in Gilgit-Baltistan's Diamer District, hence the name.
The Diamer Bhasha dam is conceived to provide enough power to overcome Pakistan's electricity shortage. Project enthusiasts also claim that its water storage capacity, in a 50-mile-long lake that would be created behind the dam, would be so huge that it would have averted last's years devastating floods.
These floods submerged a fifth of the country, made 20 million people homeless and caused an estimated $10 billion in damage.
Diamer Basha, to be located on the Indus River, would provide 4,500 megawatts of power, which is roughly equivalent to the country's current shortfall, and is expected to be ready in about 12 years.