Project Brief

Karora Hydropower Project is a run of river scheme situated in Karora area of Shangla District. The Project is nearly 15 km from Besham. Weir site is located on Khan Khwar near Kuzkana Village, while Power House is located near Marine Village 5.2 km downstream of the weir site. The scheme comprises of diversion weir with lateral intake, a conveyance box channel, leading the water to sand trap from where the sand free water enters in to headrace tunnel. At the end of Power tunnel a Surge Shaft is provided which is connected to steel Penstock which finishes in connection with Turbine Generator assembly inside Power house. The power generated will be fed through 132 KV double Circuit transmission line with the existing Line at Besham Qila. Overall progress of the project till date is approximately 97%, with construction activities in progress on different components i.e. Transmission Line, Residential Colony, E&M Works etc.

Salient Features

Current Status

·            Civil Structure:                                                         98%

·            Electro & Mechanical:                                              97%

·            Transmission Line:                                                   98%

·            Switchyard:                                                              98%

The project is almost completed except some installation, testing and commissioning of E&M equipment which would be carried out by the Chinese Engineers after their NOC granted by Home & Tribal Affairs Department which was kept pending for more than a year due to severe site specific security threats.

Challenges Faced During Implementation

·       Delay due to Possession of land.

·       Delay occurred due to extreme poor geological condition encountered in Tunnel.

·       Delay caused due to Change of 132KV single circuit transmission line 132KV double circuit transmission line.

·       Suspension of Work due to Security threats.

·       Delay due to unavailability of Chinese Engineers due to Covid-19.

·       Delay in execution of transmission line due to severe local issues, court stay orders etc.

·       Delay in E&M works due to unavailability of Chinese Engineers due to security threats.

Challenges Faced During 2022-23

·       Unavailability of Chinese Engineers at site due to security threats.

·       Issuance of Power Acquisition request (PAR) by NTDC/PESCO.

·       Non-signing of Energy Purchase Agreement with CPPA-G/PESCO.

·       Approval of 2^nd Revised PC-I.

·       Court-stay orders on different location of transmission line towers.

·       Stoppage of work by the locals during construction of Transmission Line.