Warsak Dam (Pashto: د ورسک بند; Urdu: ورسک ڈیم) is a mass concrete gravity dam located on the Kabul River in the Valley of Peshawar, approximately 20 km northwest of the city of Peshawar in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

Warsak Dam
Location of Warsak Dam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Show map of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Warsak Dam (Pakistan) Show map of Pakistan
Official name	د ورسک بند
Country	Pakistan
Location	Kabul River, Valley of Peshawar
Coordinates	34°09′50″N 71°21′29″E
Status	Operational
Construction began	1949
Opening date	1960
Owner(s)	Water and Power Development Authority
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Gravity
Impounds	Kabul River
Height	76.2 m (250 ft)
Length	140.2 m (460 ft)
Spillways	9 floodgates
Spillway type	Service, controlled
Spillway capacity	540 m3/s (19,070 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Active capacity	31,207,090 m3 (25,300 acre⋅ft) (design, now silted)
Surface area	10.3 km2 (4 sq mi)
Power Station
Commission date	1960, 1981
Hydraulic head	144 m (472 ft)
Turbines	4 x 40 MW, 2 x 41.5 MW Francis-type
Installed capacity	243 MW
Annual generation	1100 GWh

History

Warsak Dam was completed under the Colombo Plan in two phases and financed by the Canadian Government. The first phase was completed in 1960 and consisted of the construction of the dam. Irrigation tunnels and installation of four power generating units, each of 40 MW capacity with 132 kV transmission system, were also completed in 1960. Two additional generating units of 41.48 MW capacity each were added in 1980-81 in the second phase.

Capacity

The total installed capacity of the Warsak Dam Hydropower Project is 243 MW. In June 2012, the Pakistan WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority) decided to add a 375 MW powerhouse to Warsak, which will raise Warsak's total power generation capacity to 525 MW. No date was given on when the project would be complete.[1]

Rehabilitation

Germany will loan 40 million euros to Pakistan for the rehabilitation of the Warsak hydroelectric power station built over half a century ago on Kabul River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to Water and Power Development Authority, this is the second time that Warsak hydroelectric power station will be renovated. They plan to overcome several problems, including regaining the capacity loss of 30MW with reliable annual energy generation of 1,144GWh, upgrade and modernise the old system, and achieve another life cycle of 30 to 40 years. The current rehabilitation work will be financed by Germany, France and the European Union[2] Extension is being planned.[3] Germany and France will loan 40 million euros each to Pakistan for the rehabilitation of the Dam. The total cost of the project is euro 162m and it is being co-financed with the German Development Bank (KfW), European Investment Bank (EIB), French Agency for Development (AFD) and Pakistan government contributions.[4][5]

See also

• List of dams and reservoirs in Pakistan
• List of power stations in Pakistan

References

External links

• Warsak Dam at WAPDA