{"id":4081,"date":"2026-11-09T18:00:03","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T13:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=4081"},"modified":"2026-11-09T18:00:03","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T13:00:03","slug":"tarbela-5th-extension-project-halted-after-protective-embankment-breach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=4081","title":{"rendered":"Tarbela 5th extension project halted after protective embankment breach"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Construction work on the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project has been suspended indefinitely after a protective embankment developed a breach, allowing a large volume of water to enter Tunnel 5.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The incident prompted an emergency response, with all Pakistani and foreign workers evacuated to safety. No casualties have been reported.<\/p>\n

Deputy Commissioner Haripur Waseem Ahmed, who reached the site with rescue and administrative teams, confirmed that water had entered the tunnel following the breach.<\/p>\n

He said a Pakistani worker was swept away by the strong current as water flooded the tunnel but was rescued by emergency teams in a timely operation.<\/p>\n

Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the breach. A high-level inquiry committee will examine whether the incident resulted from structural weakness or a technical fault.<\/p>\n

Ahmed said the future course of action would be decided after the inquiry report is received.<\/p>\n

<\/a>WAPDA denies reports of Tunnel 5 collapse<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has rejected reports circulating on social media and other platforms claiming that Tunnel 5 had collapsed.<\/p>\n

In a detailed statement, the authority said a weak section of rock had fallen during excavation of the second bench of the connecting tunnel, allowing water to enter the tunnel and power house areas.<\/p>\n

WAPDA clarified that the incident did not involve the collapse of Tunnel 5.<\/p>\n

According to the authority, water has been completely drained from the intake pit, while dewatering work at the under-construction power house is progressing rapidly. The inflow of water into the construction areas has also been stopped.<\/p>\n

The authority said the project\u2019s main tunnel, under-construction power house, tailrace culvert and switchyard had not sustained any damage.<\/p>\n

Senior WAPDA officials, project consultants and contractors are present at the site to assess the situation, review safety measures and determine the next steps.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Project aims to add 1,530MW to Tarbela\u2019s capacity<\/h3>\n

The Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project is a major WAPDA initiative being constructed at Tunnel 5 of Tarbela Dam.<\/p>\n

The project is designed to add 1,530 megawatts to the dam\u2019s generation capacity through three units of 510MW each.<\/p>\n

In May 2021, WAPDA awarded a $354.6 million civil works contract to China\u2019s Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd. The project\u2019s total approved cost stands at $807 million.<\/p>\n

The World Bank has provided $390 million in financing, while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has contributed $300 million.<\/p>\n

Once completed, the project is expected to generate an average of 1.347 billion units of electricity annually, increasing Tarbela Dam\u2019s total generation capacity from 4,888MW to 6,418MW.<\/p>\n

However, the project has already faced several delays, pushing its completion deadline to September 2027.<\/p>\n

In September 2024, a Senate standing committee was informed that difficulties in obtaining a no-objection certificate from the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) to close Tunnel 5 were a major reason for the delays.<\/p>\n

Construction was also temporarily suspended in August 2025 due to a rise in the dam\u2019s water level.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Construction work on the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project has been suspended indefinitely after a protective embankment developed a breach, allowing a large volume of water to enter Tunnel 5. The incident prompted an emergency response, with all Pakistani and foreign workers evacuated to safety. No casualties have been reported. Deputy Commissioner Haripur Waseem Ahmed, who reached the site with rescue and administrative teams, confirmed that water had entered the tunnel following the breach. He said a Pakistani worker was swept away by the strong current as water flooded the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4081\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}