The Diamer Basha Dam Project is a large-scale hydropower and water storage development being constructed on the Indus River near Chilas, located between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan. The project plays a critical role in strengthening Pakistan’s water security and power generation capacity. During the current high flow season, the mighty Indus River has been successfully passed through the River Diversion System at the main dam site, marking an important construction milestone. The diversion system consists of a diversion tunnel and a diversion canal designed to safely manage river flows during dam construction.
The dam is a roller compacted concrete structure with a height of 272 meters and a total length of 1,006 meters. It will create a reservoir covering an area of 115 square kilometers with a gross storage capacity of 8.10 MAF and live storage of 6.40 MAF. The project includes fourteen gated spillways and an installed power generation capacity of 4,500 megawatts through twelve turbines of 375 megawatts each. Once operational, the dam is expected to generate approximately 18,097 gigawatt hours of electricity annually.
