Name:            81 MW Malakand-III Hydropower Complex

Location:      Dargai-District Malakand

Brief:

Malakand-III Hydropower Project was identified after the construction of Auxiliary Tunnel under Swabi SCARP on the Upper Swat Canal System. The Upper Swat Canal System was completed in 1918. It emanates from the Swat River at Amandara Head Works and irrigates 121,400 hectares of land of the Peshawar valley.

A 6 km long canal carries water from Amandara to the foot of Malakand hills. There, the 3.5 km long Benton Tunnel pierces the Malakand hills and passes water into the Dargai Nullah. Utilizing this water, two power plants Jabban and Dargai, each of 20 MW capacity, were set up in 1937 and 1953 respectively each between the outlet of Benton tunnel and the tri-furcator.

Due to increase in irrigation water demand the Amandara Head Works was upgraded under the Swabi SCARP and another auxiliary tunnel, parallel to the existing Benton tunnel was constructed to carry the increased design discharge of 51 cumecs. In order to avail this additional discharge for hydropower, before it is fed into Machai branch, the Malakand-III Hydropower Project having a capacity of 81 MW was conceived. This project was proposed to be operated in conjunction with the two existing power stations of Jabban and Dargai keeping in view the variation in water availability in Swat River.

It is important to add that subsequent to the feasibility of Malakand-III, it was identified that 25,000 acres of land can be irrigated under the project, in addition to hydel benefits. Therefore, from the outlet of sediment excluder of Malakand-III an Irrigation project “Baizai” for gravity irrigation of about 25,000 acres of land was conceived which is now under construction by Irrigation Department.

Malakand-III project was completed in 2008 and interconnected with National Grid through 132 kV Dargai Grid Station. The power generated is being sold to NTDC under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with NTDC for 25 years. The rate for sale of power to NTDC has been determined by NEPRA. The Project had achieved its Commercial Operation Date (CoD) on November 1, 2008. Uptill now the project is running successfully, fulfilling all the conditions and has not failed to achieve its targets. It has generated so far a revenue of more than Rs. 28 Billion Rupees.

Salient Features of the HPC:

Ø  Location                                   : Dargai (Malakand Agency)

Ø  Capacity                                        : 81 MW

Ø  Rated Flow                               : 51 Cumecs

Ø  Net Head                                  : 181 m

Ø  Annual Energy                          :  549 GWh / annum

Ø  Total Project Length                  : 10 km

Ø  Headrace channel                     : 2.62 km

Ø  Tunnels (5 Nos.)                        : 3.33 km

Ø  Cross Drainage Structures        : 20 Nos.

Ø  Sediment Excluder                    : 140 m Long X 45 m Wide X 11.25 m Deep

Ø  Forebay                                       : 60 m long, 14 m wide and 14.20 m deep

Ø  Spillway                                       : 886 m long(726m Spillway Cascade & 160m

    long Spillway Tunnel)

Ø  Penstock                                     : 832 m Long with 4 m Diameter, running through

    120 m tunnel.

Ø  Power house                              : 46 m Long X 36 m Wide (in 32 m deep excavation).

Ø  Turbines                                      : 3 No. Vertical Shaft Francis turbines.

Ø  Tailrace                                        : 1005 m long concrete lined channel.

Ø  Wasteway                                    : 2385 m long stone pitched channel.

Ø  Irrigation from Bezai Scheme     : 20,000 Acres

Objectives:

The objective is to design a hydroelectric plant utilizing optimal energy in the water, with minimum submergence and economic costs, considering seasonal variation in power generation to meet the region's demand during all seasons.

Benefits:

Economic source of energy: The popularity of hydroelectricity has been increasing since the total cost of operation and maintenance is negligible. Also, as they do not have to be purified, most energy suppliers prefer hydroelectric power.

Renewable and clean resource: Hydroelectricity only derives the energy from moving water and converts it into electricity. The water powering the turbine is then released back into the water stream. This is an essential benefit of hydroelectric power.

Eco-friendly: Hydroelectric power is ecofriendly as it accounts for a lower chunk of the total emissions as compared to coal and fossil fuel. Additionally, it does not contain any toxic by-product that would harm the environment.

Completion Date of Project:        December 2009

Name of O&M Contractor:

M/S Alfajr International-Norinco JV, Islamabad

Resident Engineer Contact No and Email Address:

Engr. Muhammad Abid

Phone:           0932-331056            Fax:    0932-331045

Email:             Muhammad.abid@pedo.pk

NEPRA Tariff: