Islamabad:
The restoration work at the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHPC) would take two more years, the Minister of Water Resources, Muhammad Moeen, said on Friday in the National Assembly, as committee investigating questions
was to finalize his report soon.
Speaking during questions, the minister said that the main contract for carrying out reparation work on the project – which was closed in May 2024 – had not yet been awarded in accordance with the government’s instructions.
Until now, 6.6 billion rupees have been spent to repair the project race tunnel (TRT). Once the TRT is fixed, the factory resumed complete operations in March 2024, generating 969 megawatts of electricity. However, the factory had to be closed two months later due to problems in the head race tunnel (HRT), “he said.
He said the project is currently working under a provisional rate on a “taking and payment” basis. There are no fixed payments or investment returns. The company manages its expenses thanks to its own resources and payments awaiting the sale of electricity at the Central Electricity Purchase Agency (CPPA-G). “”
According to the National Power Control Center (NPCC), the minister said that the country has enough electricity production to meet demand, and no load shedding is carried out due to shortages. He added that the local electricity supply had not been affected by the closure.
The Minister informed the Chamber that project consultants had been invited to examine and improve maintenance procedures to avoid such problems in the future. He stressed the importance of operating and maintaining the factory in accordance with the equipment manufacturer’s directives to prevent unexpected closures.
