PESHAWAR: A day after work at the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project was also put on hold, civil work at the sites of the Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha Dams has been temporarily halted by the Chinese corporations in charge of overseeing activities due to security concerns, The News reported on Friday.
This development follows earlier this week’s terror incident in Shangla, which resulted in the deaths of at least six individuals, including five Chinese engineers who were working on the Dasu Dam.
The passengers died on Tuesday when their bus was struck by an explosives-laden automobile on the Karakoram Highway in the Bisham region.
The publication was informed by an official involved in the project that approximately 991 Chinese engineers were working on both projects, with the local workers being instructed to remain at home until further orders.
Employees at the 4,320 MW Dasu Dam in District Upper Kohistan consist of about 6,000 locals and 741 Chinese. But Chinese engineers are still on the job site, continuing to work on the Mohmand Dam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Chinese corporation had likewise halted work on the dam, according to General Manager of Diamer-Bhasha Dam (DBD) Nazakat Hussain. He claimed that while the FWO staff is still employed, about 500 Chinese nationals were involved in DBD. The building of a dam employs about 6,000 locals.In a few days, he hoped, things would settle down and the Chinese workers would return. By using hydropower, the Diamer-Bhasha Dam would generate 4,800 MW of electricity.
