WAPDA awards Chinese contractor for Mangla Refurbishment Project

The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has recently awarded a contract package to a Chinese contractor for the supply of two GSU transformers for unit No. 9 and 10 of the Mangla Refurbishment Project. This contract, known as Package III C, amounts to $6.28729 million and involves the design and supply of two 220 KV, 168.75 MVA Generator Step-up (GSU) Transformers. The Chinese contractor is expected to complete the task within approximately 13 months (400 days).

The contract signing ceremony took place at WAPDA House, where General Manager (Hydel) Development WAPDA Ihsan Ullah and Chief Representative of the Chinese firm CHINT Zyphyr Zhao signed the contract. The project, with an approved cost of Rs52.224 billion, aims to refurbish the Mangla Hydel Power Station in phases, ultimately increasing its generation capacity from 1000 MW to 1310 MW upon completion. The first two units have already been refurbished in 2022, and the entire project is scheduled for completion by 2027-28.

Upon completion, the Mangla Refurbishment Project will not only increase the generation capacity but also boost the average annual generation from 5 billion units to 6.6 billion units. Funding for the project includes a US$150 million grant from USAID and a Euro 90 million loan from AFD France, with the remaining amount being sourced by WAPDA through loans and internal resources.