The World Bank, through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), approved a US$390m loan for the Tarbela fourth extension hydropower project on the Indus River in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 70 km away from Pakistan's capital city Islamabad.
The loan will finance the Tarbela extensions project 4 and 5 of 1,410 MW each (3 turbines of 470 MW). Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) is currently implementing the Tarbela extension 4 project. The construction works are expected to be completed in 2017. When fully completed the Tarbela hydropower plant will have a generating capacity of 6.3 GW.
In addition to the hydropower project the funding will allow the laying of 50 km-long transmission line to connect the national grid, as well as the construction of a pilot floating solar power plant that could be expanded up to 5,000 MW.
The Tarbela dam was developed during the 1970s mainly for irrigation purpose. As from the mid-eighties power generation capacity was added in three subsequent hydro-electrical project extensions : Tunnel 1 (700 MW), Tunnel 2 (1,050 MW) and Tunnel 3 (1,410 MW).
The project will be financed by the IBRD (US$390m) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) that would be providing US$300m.
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