The Khan Khwar Hydropower Plant is a run-of-the-river project located near the town of Besham in Shangla District on the Khan Khwar River, a right bank tributary of the Indus River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is approximately 265 km from the federal capital of Islamabad and 350 km from provincial capital of Peshawar.[1][2]
Khan Khwar Hydropower Plant | |
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Official name | Khan Khwar Hydropower Plant |
Location | Besham, Shangla, Pakistan |
Coordinates | 34°54′19.21″N 072°48′41.55″E |
Status | Operational |
Construction began | April 2003 (completed in April 2012) |
Opening date | 14 July 2012 |
Owner(s) | Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) |
Dam and spillways | |
Type of dam | RCC |
Impounds | Khan Khwar River |
Height | 46 m (151 ft) |
Length | 112 m (367 ft) |
Power Station | |
Turbines | 2 x 34 MW (46,000 hp) Francis-type, 1 x 4 MW (5,400 hp) |
Installed capacity | 72 MW (97,000 hp) |
Annual generation | 595 million units (GWh) |
The total electricity generation capacity of the Khan Khwar project is 72 megawatts (97,000 hp).[3] There are two vertical Francis turbine units of 34 MW and one unit of 4 MW installed at the Khan Khwar Hydroelectric Station, with an average annual generation capacity of 595 million units (GWh) of cheap electricity.[4] These turbines are manufactured by Dongfang Electric Machinery Co. Ltd.[5] The project was completed by the technical assistance of Chinese corporations (Sinohydro Corporation via a consortium with China Water Resources Beifang Investigation, Design and Research Co. Ltd).
Construction of the Khan Khwar Hydropower Plant commenced in April 2003, and the project was completed in April 2012. The power house commenced commercial operations in November 2010. The project was officially inaugurated on 14 July 2012 by Prime Minister of Pakistan Raja Pervez Ashraf. The total cost of the project was about PKR 10.73 billion, out of which PKR 5.049 billion accounted for the foreign exchange component.[6]
Dam:
Type: RCC
Length: 112 m.
Height: 46 m.
Design discharge: 29 cusecs
Design head: 244 m.