The government has decided to construct Rabwah Dam (Chiniot Dam) between Chiniot and Rabwah on Chenab River at a cost of Rs 23.59 billion, to store water for irrigation and electricity generation this Dam Plan has been in writing for a decade or so but no progress was made until now !
The announcement was made at a meeting of WAPDA, NESPAK and the Irrigation Department lead by senior Minister Raja Riaz Ahmad in Chiniot on Thursday. This will produce up to 256 giga watt hours (GWH) of hydropower electricity and it will be able to store water for cultivation of around 26.4 thousand tons of wheat. The water in the dam would have a value of around Rs 2.92 billion and the power generated will have a round about value of Rs 0.92 billion. The project report of Rabwah Dam (Chiniot Dam) is ready to be submitted to the federal government.
It is said that the dam would have a barrage capacity of 1 million cusecs and a storage capacity of 1.29 million acre feet (MAF). The total length of the dykes will be 44 miles with a height of 39 feet. The ‘environment and rehabilitation cost’ of the dam has been estimated at Rs 5.2 billion, but we wonder if they will actually be applied for this purpose ! while Rs 5.1 billion would be spent on setting up a powerhouse.
Irrigation Department experts said Chenab River’s embankments would be reinforced up to Pindi Bhattian for protection against floods.
Source : Chiniot Dam (Rabwah Dam)