Balakot Hydropower Project
Name of Project : Construction of 300 MW Balakot HPP
Location / Country : Balakot, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa / Pakistan
Client : Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO)
Funded by : Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Commencement : September 2020
Completion : September 2027
Balakot HPP is located on the Kunhar river in Kaghan valley of district Mansehra, KP. The powerhouse site is located about 10 Km upstream, and the dam site, near Paras village, about 29 Km upstream of Balakot city.
The Project aims to develop a 300 MW run-of-river scheme with average annual energy of 1143 GWh, and to evacuate it through a system of sub-station and transmission line to the national grid, with the following main components:
- A 58 m high and 130 m long gravity concrete curved axis dam to create about 2.2 Km long reservoir with a gross storage of 3.6 MCM.
- A concrete lined circular headrace tunnel (9.1 Km long and 8 m dia).
- A 650 m long sediment by-pass/diversion tunnel.
- A 122 m high surge shaft with 14.5 m inner diameter.
- A 5.6 m diameter steel lined pressure shaft and penstock.
- A Cavern powerhouse (20 m wide, 71 m long and 34 m high) for 3 Francis generating units of 100 MW each (installed capacity of 300 MW for a 218 m net head and 154 cumecs turbine flow).
- Single-phase transformers arranged in a smaller cavern (14 m wide, 88 m long and 20 m high) next to the main cavern hall, with a caverns’ cover depth is about 230 m.
- A 244 m high downstream surge shaft with 3 m diameter; and
- A 1.6 Km long tailrace tunnel.