ISLAMABAD: Completion of Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project is an achievement of the government which will help bridge power shortfall and help generate handsome revenue, a business leader said on Thursday.
The much-delayed project has almost been completed costing over Rs404 billion which will generate 969 megawatts of electricity. The reservoir of the dam with a capacity of 8,200 million acre-feet is being filled which will take a month, said ICCI former president Atif Ikram Sheikh. He said that the project will add five billion unit of electricity in the national grid per annum while it will generate Rs50 billion revenue and also cater for domestic and agricultural needs of the area. Sheikh said that the cost of electricity from the project has been estimated at Rs7 per unit which is very low as compare to the other modes of power generation. He said that test production of the electricity has been initiated while the commercial production will begin within three months.
A substantial amount is being used to provide water to the local population for consumption and agriculture while damage to the environment has been minimised, he added.
