MWH to Provide Construction Management Services for Hydropower Project in Pakistan

[MirBadshah]

MWH to Provide Construction Management Services for Hydropower Project in Pakistan


Wednesday May 30, 1:06 pm ET

Rapid Economic Growth Drives Demand for New Facility, Part of 25-Year Plan to Meet Increasing Demand for Energy


CHICAGO, May 30 /PRNewswire/ -- MWH, a global provider of environmental engineering, construction and strategic consulting services, has been selected by the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) to provide construction management and contract administration services on the Jinnah Hydropower Project (JHPP) through a joint venture with local engineering companies. The project, which broke ground in December 2006, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010, is part of a 25-year master plan to meet increasing energy demand being driven by rapid economic growth in Pakistan.


In its role on the project, MWH will complete a detailed review of the JHPP engineering design and oversee procurement, construction, programming and quality assurance procedures. This includes quality control testing of construction materials and the final structures and components. In addition, MWH will monitor design and construction procedures to ensure they are completed correctly and comply with project specifications and local laws.

"MWH has a long history of working in Pakistan and with WAPDA," said Alan Krause, president of the Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Industry unit of MWH. "Working in strategic roles by contributing our technical expertise to hydropower projects, such as the Jinnah project, is among the things that MWH does best. We're pleased to have been selected and look forward to working with WAPDA to meet the engineering needs of this project."

Located in the Punjab province, 234 kilometers southeast of Islamabad, the main components of the JHPP include a headrace channel; a powerhouse that houses eight low head pit turbines each producing 12 megawatts of power for a total of 96 megawatts; a tailrace channel; a 132 kilovolt double circuit transmission line; and a 132 kilovolt switchyard. The annual 688 million kilowatt-hours of energy the hydropower facility is expected to produce will be transported along a five kilometer transmission line to provide power to the national electric grid system.

The project is being implemented under an EPC (engineer, procure, construct) contract awarded by WAPDA to Dongfang Electric Corporation, a Chinese contractor, for a total project cost of US $128 million.

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