Authorities in Pakistan have awarded a hydropower extension project worth $354 million to a Chinese firm, reported Dawn. The contract was signed following an international bidding process. 

Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority had issued a global tender for the civil work on the 1,530MW Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project. 

The 5th extension project involves the construction of tunnel no. 5 of Tarbela dam with an approved PC-1 cost of $807 million. The cumulative generation capacity of the project would be 1,530MW with three generating units of 510MW each.

The International Bank for Recons­truction and Development (IBRD), the World Bank is providing $390m, while Asian Infrastructure Invest­ment Bank (AIIB) to give $300m loans.

The project is likely to take around three years for compilation and expected to be finished by June 2024. Once complicated, it would add 1.347 billion units of electricity annually to the national power grid.