The cost of Pakistan’s Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project has surged to about Rs316 billion after ECNEC approved a major revision, despite concerns over project management and previous structural failures.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved a 282 percent upward revision in the project cost. The original estimate stood at about Rs82 billion. The latest approval adds roughly Rs234 billion to the bill.
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Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chaired the ECNEC meeting. The committee approved 16 development projects with a combined estimated cost of Rs1.15 trillion. Around Rs320 billion of that amount represents additional costs linked to delays and price escalation.
Cofferdam Failure Raised Serious Questions
The Tarbela project has faced delays, cost pressures and questions over oversight.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal had earlier “expressed serious concerns over the project’s management, transparency, and oversight mechanisms,” according to the Planning Commission.
An official inquiry also examined the collapse of the project’s downstream cofferdam. Investigators concluded that the failure was “not caused by flood but by change in design from roller-compacted concrete to rock-fill dam”.
The inquiry also identified inadequate supervision and delayed administrative action. It linked those failures to structural damage, project delays and financial losses.
A separate government inquiry held the contractor, consultant and WAPDA responsible for the collapse. It also found that river flows remained within historical levels rather than reaching exceptional flood conditions.
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The Finance Ministry had sought justification for the cost escalation before ECNEC approval. It also asked WAPDA to explain the repayment mechanism because international lenders are financing the project.
The World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are providing $390 million and $300 million respectively. The project will add 1,530 megawatts through three 510MW generating units at Tarbela Dam.
ECNEC Approves Rs1.15 Trillion Development Package
ECNEC also cleared several major transport, water and social development schemes.
The committee approved the Lahore-Sahiwal-Bahawalnagar Motorway at Rs407 billion. It retained the original 295-kilometre alignment. The first 18.5-kilometre section from Lahore Ring Road to Raja Jang Interchange will cost Rs49 billion.
The 48-kilometre Khwazakhela-Besham Expressway received approval at Rs116.6 billion. ECNEC also cleared a Rs29 billion road connecting Gilgit-Baltistan with Azad Kashmir.
The Rathoa Haryam Bridge received approval at Rs10.8 billion. Its original estimate stood at only Rs1.4 billion.
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Meanwhile, Lahore’s wastewater treatment project received Rs56.6 billion. A poverty alleviation programme covering 10 districts of southern Punjab secured Rs29.7 billion.
ECNEC also approved Rs10.6 billion for the Fulbright scholarship programme, which aims to support 816 scholarships.
The approvals underline the growing financial burden caused by delays and revised costs across major public projects. Tarbela 5 remains one of the most closely watched because of its scale, foreign financing and importance to Pakistan’s future electricity supply.
