WAPDA Signs Rs133bn Diamer Basha Dam Contract
The Water and Power Development Authority has signed the Diamer Basha Dam contract for hydro-mechanical works worth Rs133.18 billion. The agreement went to a joint venture of PowerChina and IKAN at a ceremony at WAPDA House on October 24, 2026.
WAPDA signed the deal with the PowerChina-IKAN joint venture for the HM-1 contract of the Diamer Basha Dam Project. Chief Engineer and Project Director Arif Ali signed for WAPDA, while Ling Jianke signed as the authorised representative of the joint venture. WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed (Retd) attended the ceremony with the authority’s members for finance, water and power, the chief executive of the Diamer Basha Development Company, a delegation led by the chairman of PowerChina International Group Limited, and representatives of the consultants.
What the Diamer Basha Dam contract covers
The HM-1 contract covers hydro-mechanical equipment and hydraulic steel structures for the project. The work includes the manufacture, supply and installation of gates and steel structures that control water flows at the dam.
The equipment will go into the flushing tunnels on both the left and right banks, the power intakes, and the outlets of the dam. The contract also includes steel lining, hoisting systems, pumping systems and allied electrical works. Together, these parts form the hardware that will let the dam manage river flows and feed its power units once construction reaches that stage.
Why the dam matters for Pakistan
The Diamer Basha Dam is a priority project of the federal government for water, food and energy security. Workers are building it across the River Indus, about 40 kilometres downstream of Chilas town in Gilgit-Baltistan.
On completion, the dam will store 8.1 million acre-feet of water and generate 4,500 megawatts of electricity. That storage matters for irrigation in the Indus basin, while the power output will add low-cost hydropower to the national grid at a time when consumers face high electricity bills. Readers following power costs can see how September fuel charges and power purchase prices already shape monthly bills.
Cost pressures around the project
The signing comes as major hydropower projects face steep cost increases. The Ministry of Water Resources has told parliament that the cost of the Diamer Basha Dam component rose by 134 per cent to Rs1,121,934 million, against an originally approved cost of Rs479,686 million. Officials linked the rise to currency depreciation, higher material prices, design changes and security costs, and the project timeline moved from February 2029 to December 2030.
The same pressures affect other dams. The Mohmand Dam cost jumped by 115 per cent, and the ministry cited similar reasons for that increase. The HM-1 contract is therefore one more step in a project whose final bill has grown well past early estimates, even as its water and power benefits remain central to government plans.
What happens next
The joint venture will now move to manufacture and supply the equipment under the contract. Installation will follow at the flushing tunnels, intakes and outlets as civil works reach the required stage. WAPDA has not announced a separate completion date for the HM-1 package, but the dam’s overall timeline now runs to December 2030 under the revised schedule.
For households and farms, the project promises more stored water and cheaper power in the long run. For now, the signing marks steady progress on a dam that has waited years for its key contracts. The Punjab power firm’s tariff case shows how closely regulators watch the cost of new power, and the Diamer Basha project will face the same scrutiny as its bills come in.
What is the HM-1 contract?
The HM-1 contract covers hydro-mechanical equipment and hydraulic steel structures for the Diamer Basha Dam, including gates, steel lining, hoisting systems and pumping systems.
Who won the contract?
The contract went to a joint venture of PowerChina and IKAN, worth Rs133.18 billion, signed at WAPDA House on October 24, 2026.
How much power will the dam produce?
On completion, the Diamer Basha Dam will have an installed power generation capacity of 4,500 megawatts and gross water storage of 8.1 million acre-feet.
Where is the dam being built?
The dam is being built across the River Indus, about 40 kilometres downstream of Chilas town.
