WAPDA has suspended construction work on the Tarbela 5th Extension (Tarbela T-5) Hydropower Project following an incident at Tunnel Five on Monday.
Reports say a breach in a protective bund at the hydropower project caused a large volume of water to flood Tunnel Five.
A WAPDA spokesperson said a weak rock mass collapsed during excavation of the Second Bench Connecting Tunnel, allowing water from the Intake Pit to enter the tunnel and power house area. All workers were immediately evacuated safely, the spokesperson added.
“The water from the Intake Pit has been completely drained, and no further water is entering the downstream work sites.” Dewatering work at the under-construction power house has also started, according to the spokesperson.
WAPDA spokesperson added that senior officers, engineers and the contractor were assessing the situation to address any challenges facing Project T-5.
The authority rejected reports circulating about the collapse of the T-5 Tunnel, describing them as incorrect. It said the main tunnel, under-construction power house, tailrace culvert and switchyard had suffered no damage. No worker was injured or lost their life in the incident, according to the Water and Power Development Authority.
Tarbela T-5 Project:
WAPDA is developing T-5 under the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project. It says this major scheme will add 1,530 megawatts to the dam’s installed generation capacity. T-5 has three units, each of 510MW.
In May 2021, WAPDA awarded a $354.6 million civil works contract to China’s Power Construction Corporation of China Limited. The project has an approved cost of $807 million, including $390 million in World Bank financing. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will invest $300 million in the project, according to WAPDA.
Upon completion, the project is expected to generate an average of 1.347 billion units of electricity annually. It will raised Tarbela Dam’s installed capacity from 4,888MW to 6,418MW.
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