The Second Rehabilitation Project of the old Warsak Dam and Powerhouse is strategically important. In addition to restoring the original installed capacity of Pakistan’s flagship hydropower station to about 243MW, the project is a key component of climate-change adaptation and environmental management, including flood management, glacier-melting monitoring, and watershed protection.
WARSAK PROJECT
The Second Rehabilitation Project of the old Warsak Dam and Powerhouse is strategically important. In addition to restoring the original installed capacity of Pakistan’s flagship hydropower station to about 243MW, the project is a key component of climate-change adaptation and environmental management, including flood management, glacier-melting monitoring, and watershed protection.
The second rehabilitation project of Warsak Dam and Powerhouse, located on River Kabul near Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in July 2015 at a total cost of about Rs22.25 billion, including a local-currency component of Rs10.97 billion. International financial institutions -- France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Germany’s KfW Development Bank -- signed agreements in 2015-16 to finance the project through soft-term loans of €40 million, €50 million and €40 million, respectively, totalling €130 million. In addition, the European Union (EU) provided a €4.5 million grant for community development around the project area and to study the Warsak Dam’s resilience to climate change. The project was originally scheduled for completion in seven years. Although implementation is now advanced, the project has suffered inordinate delays.
Constructed during 1952-60, Warsak Dam, along with its powerhouse, was financed by Canada under the Colombo Plan and became the country’s first multipurpose medium- to large-sized hydropower project. Historically, the dam served as a precursor to the large reservoirs and hydropower stations at Mangla (1968) and Tarbela (1977). The first phase installed four 40MW turbo-generator units at the Warsak powerhouse, along with a 132 kV transmission system. With financial assistance, Canada commissioned two additional 41.48MW units at Warsak during 1980-81, bringing the powerhouse’s cumulative installed capacity to approximately 243MW.
Canada implemented the first rehabilitation project of the Warsak power station during 1996-2006, with technical and financial assistance. The project helped stabilise deteriorating civil structures and restore generation capacity severely degraded by heavy river sedimentation. Generation capacity increased to 220MW from a derated capacity of about 150MW. Although the Warsak power station has generally operated reliably, it has faced several other problems. One major challenge is the excessive quantity and abrasive nature of the silt carried by the river water. Operating the turbo-generating units during the monsoon season with silt-laden water containing quartz causes rapid erosion of turbine parts and other hydraulic equipment, resulting in severe and chronic operation and maintenance problems.
Remedial measures, such as regular repair and rebuilding of worn equipment and replacement of turbine components, have therefore been adopted. Nevertheless, the powerhouse remains vulnerable to frequent breakdowns because of ageing and obsolete machinery, as well as severe erosion damage to turbine components. The high sediment concentration in the river water has also caused structural deformation of the powerhouse, including deformation of concrete in the building and spillway. In fact, the powerhouse has long exceeded its designed useful life, and the power station’s installed capacity has been de-rated to about 193MW. On completion, the second rehabilitation project will restore the power station’s original 243MW capacity and modernise its turbines and auxiliary systems, extending its operational life by 30-40 years.
Although the Warsak power station has generally operated reliably, it has faced several other problems. One major challenge is the excessive quantity and abrasive nature of the silt carried by the river water
Project consultants, a joint venture, were appointed in April 2017. The project awarded the civil works contract to a Pakistani contractor through international competitive bidding in 2021. A joint venture of French and Chinese companies secured the electromechanical works contract in 2021-2022. The initial delays in project implementation were attributed to the pandemic, logistical difficulties, and the law-and-order situation in the area. The project is still awaiting completion.
The project involves replacing turbine runners with new runners based on modern technology and equipped with heavy corrosion-resistant coatings, as well as modernising the trash-rack cleaning system during the early implementation stage. The electromechanical works contract includes overhauling and modernising all six generating units, with a particular focus on the four oldest units. The scope of work includes supplying, rehabilitating and installing turbines, generators, excitation and governing systems, protection and control instrumentation, balance-of-plant (BOP) equipment, and transformers, accounting for almost 45 per cent of the total foreign-exchange cost. The project is progressively overhauling the generating units, one by one, to avoid a complete shutdown of the powerhouse.
Other salient features of the project include stabilising concrete structures, treating severe electromechanical erosion and carrying out civil works to protect the water intake from extreme conditions.
The Warsak reservoir has become heavily silted, having lost almost 83 per cent of its initial storage capacity. With practically no live storage remaining, the power-generating plant operated essentially as a run-of-river project. Detailed studies were conducted to establish a sustainable sediment-management concept for the dam and reservoir. In July 2025, the infrastructure for the sophisticated sediment-management system was completed. Reservoir desilting will increase hydrological capacity and support maintenance of electromechanical equipment. European technical assistance has also been provided for flood management and watershed protection.
Clearance of the reservoir will restore the full water supply to 120,000 acres of irrigated land, as envisaged in the original design. The community development programme has also been completed, while the power station’s mechanical workshops have been upgraded and modernised to enhance its machinery-maintenance capability.
According to the updated timescale, all six generating units will be commissioned, tested and connected to the national grid no later than February 2027. The more than 60-year-old installation will thus be upgraded to modern specifications and performance standards, in line with applicable international safety and environmental standards. The powerhouse, restored to its full 243MW capacity with improved operational efficiency and reliability, is expected to generate 1,144 GWh of firm energy annually, with the rehabilitation providing an estimated additional 169 GWh of generation through improved plant efficiency, availability and utilisation of available water resources.
The second rehabilitation project will, therefore, not only revitalise one of Pakistan’s oldest and strategically important hydropower installations but also contribute to improved water management, environmental protection and economic activity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and at the national level.
The writer is a retired chairman of the State Engineering Corporation.
