Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Development News

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Gomal Zam Hydel Power Station:

Damaged power generating unit restored; synchronized with National Grid
WAPDA has restored the damaged power generating unit of Gomal Zam Hydel Power Station and synchronized it successfully with the National Grid upon completion of all commissioning tests and full operational readiness to ensure safe and reliable operation of the unit.

With Unit No.1, becoming fully functional, Gomal Zam Hydel Power Station, located in South Waziristan, has now been restored to its original installed generation capacity of 17.4 MW, benefiting the people living in far-flung areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Prior to this, Gomal Zam Hydel Power Station was running on half of its installed capacity i.e. 8.7 MW for the last 8 years.

It is pertinent to mention that Gomal Zam Hydel Power Station has two generating units - of 8.7 MW each - with an annual generation capacity of 90.9 million units. The facility is connected to the National Grid through 132 KV South Waziristan-Tank transmission line. Both units became non-operational in October 2016 due to a technical fault rendering the Reverse Power protection relay inoperative.

WAPDA managed to restore Unit No. 2 with its in-house expertise and own resources in June 2018. However, Unit No.1 could not be restored due to the nature of the damage. Primarily, it was law and order situation in the area, which hampered restoration works for about 10 years.

The rehabilitation works, awarded to a Joint Venture at a cost of Rs. 359.5 million, started on April 5, 2026, which have been successfully completed in 80 days on June 25, 2026.

Gomal Zam Hydel Power Station is a component of Gomal Zam Dam, which is a multi-purpose Project, designed to ensure water availability for irrigated agriculture, flood mitigation and affordable electricity generation.

Since its completion in 2013, it has been playing a key role in poverty alleviation in the area. Besides having an installed power generation capacity of 17.4 MW, the Project has a gross water storage capacity of 1.14 million acre feet to irrigate 191,139 acres of land.

 

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29km Dir Motorway project gets go-ahead in KP​

Report
July 19, 2026
Dawn

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Committee on Saturday approved the construction of the 29-kilometre Dir Motorway.

The motorway will extend from Chakdara Interchange to Baroon in Lower Dir district at an estimated cost of Rs69 billion.

The approval was accorded during a meeting of the committee chaired by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, according to a statement issued from the chief minister’s secretariat.

The chief minister ordered relevant authorities to immediately initiate the process for acquiring the land required for the project.


He also ordered the departments concerned to establish clear implementation timelines to ensure the motorway was completed within the stipulated timeframe, enabling the public to benefit from this vital infrastructure project at the earliest.

Mr Afridi directed the relevant authorities to propose necessary amendments to the existing Public-Private Partnership framework to facilitate faster, more efficient execution of development projects and to reduce implementation timelines under the PPP model.

The chief minister said the motorway was a significant gift from the provincial government of PTI founding chairman Imran Khan to the people of Malakand division.

He said the project would substantially reduce travel time, lower fuel consumption and transportation costs, and generate direct economic benefits for the people.

He stated that the motorway would play a pivotal role in promoting tourism and strengthening the regional economy.

“Improved connectivity to remote tourist destinations across Malakand division will boost tourism, create new employment opportunities, and make a significant contribution to the region’s socioeconomic development,” the statement quoted the chief minister as saying.