Islamabad is likely to allocate a hefty sum in the next fiscal budget for the country’s hydropower projects, documents and reports suggest.
A document based on computations for the projects to be executed by the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has proposed Rs140 billion.
This amount as the authority believes is required for 15 projects. The total cost has been estimated to be Rs1363 billion.
The power division’s demand of Rs140 billion for the next PSDP 2020-21 is Rs19 billion higher than the current fiscal.
Of the total, Rs 38 billion is Foreign Exchange Component (FEC) while Rs 102 billion is the local component.
In the list of projects, three would require Rs.100 billion against the total cost of Rs620 billion. They would generate 3698 MW of electricity.
For refurbishing four Hydro Power stations with a generation capacity of 580 MW, the ministry will demand Rs14.67 billion against the total cost of Rs80.72 billion.
For conducting feasibility studies of two hydropower projects worth Rs1.020 billion, a demand Rs350 billion will be made.
For yet other three hydro projects worth Rs1.742 billion, the proposed allocation will be Rs836 million.
The total demand to be made in the new year is only 10 percent of the total cost of 17 Hydropower projects costing Rs1364.50 billion.
For the ongoing three hydropower projects of 2427 MW, costing Rs 660 billion, the allocation in the PSDP 2019-20 was Rs 50.62 billion. The Throw forward available for the projects is Rs 114.93 billion. The total expenditure till June 2019 was Rs 545 billion.
For the hydropower projects which are at the initial stage with generation capacity of 3698 MW costing Rs 619.43 billion, the total allocation in the PSDP stood at Rs 58.65 billion.
The total expenditure till June 2019 was Rs 80.33 billion while the throw Forward available is Rs 541 billion.
For the refurbishment Hydro Power stations of 580 MW, a sum of Rs10.571 has been allocated in the PSDP 2019-20.
The total cost of refurbishment stood at Rs 80.717 billion, with an expenditure of Rs 8.46 billion till June 2019 and throw forward of Rs 72.26 billion.
For the feasibilities of four hydropower projects with the capacity of 8025 MW with the total cost of Rs 2.59 billion, Rs 532 million has been allocated in 2019-20.
Throw forward of Rs 1.82 billion, while the total expenditures till June 2019 were Rs 769 million. For the other three projects of Rs 1.742 billion, Rs 401 million was allocated in the PSDP 2019-20

One of the most prestigious professions in the world is engineering. For many, it’s a dream which comes true for a few. Those who come at par with their engineering programs and obtain degree consider themselves among the luckier ones. It’s also evident by the state of competition for admissions in prestigious universities offering engineering programs that it is not a low hanging fruit. However, the irony is the cream of brilliant students who get admitted to engineering universities through a lot of effort find themselves nowhere after graduation.
Some disappointing estimates notify a ticking time bomb we’re quite unwarned of the size of destruction of, which include injecting of almost 20,000-25,000 engineering graduates each year in the market, their high level of unemployment, struggling to walk in, in the organizations, lack of jobs, lack of training/internship opportunities,
poor industry-academia linkage making graduates clueless on their placements, worst economic crisis limiting opening of job opportunities, shameful starting salaries ranging from Rs 15,000-Rs 25,000 nearing minimum labor wage rate, lack of skill, lack of business understanding, lack of guidance and corrupt practices of organizations who just want to purchase the certificate number on quite a feeble cost from already frustrated young engineers who’re left with no other choice than to go for easy money.
Amid this cloud of uncertainty among young engineers, Pakistan Engineers Forum (PEF) Karachi Chapter figured out the gaps and designed a program for them which now has converted to being a continuous annual function.
They call it ‘Career Guidance Seminar for Young Engineers’ and invite audiences from all engineering universities of Karachi, Hyderabad and nearby cities. They’ve included aspects every recently graduated engineer is usually concerned about. This covers introducing them to current trends in engineering industry and the status of jobs market,
the behavioral guidelines a good engineer needs to have, the presentation of their resume and conduct in the interviews, answers to questions about continuing engineering, management or further studies domestically or internationally, pursuance of career in upcoming technologies and the way to access them, introduction to the fields not usually considered as technical in which their engineering knowledge and skills could be utilized, the buzz word ‘Entrepreneurship’, its modalities and implications, rather success stories. Rather it’s a full package a young engineering graduate collects from attending the session. For the sixth time in a row, this year the session was conducted at KSBL Auditorium, Karachi in which senior professionals from engineering industry including Dr Muhammad Bashir Lakhani (Expert in Water Resources Management), Engr Islamuddin Zafar (Engineering and
Management Consultant), Engr Al Kazim Mansoor (Expert Geo Technical Services), Engr Muhammad Shafique (Vice Chairman Pakistan Engineering Council Sindh), Engr Sohail Bashir (Chairman Institute of Engineers Pakistan), Engr Humayun Qureshi (Expert Information Technology & Internet of Things), Engr Haris Mehmood (Lead Corporate Trainer), Dr Irfan Hyder (Dean Institute of Business Management), Dr Imran Amin (Head of Computer Engineering SZABIST), Dr Hassan Jamil Syed (Associate
Professor FAST-NU), Dr Saad Nadeem (Assistant Professor NED University) and Engr Muhammad Mustafa Ahmedzai (Young Entrepreneur) were invited to share their thoughts and success stories with young engineers.
Engineering Review observed that a large number of engineers were present at the event and when interviewed, they applauded the efforts made by PEF Karachi emphasizing the need for an increase in guidance programs for young engineers as such

Descon Engineering, a premier EPC company in Pakistan, conducted its first CEO Communication Session of 2020 to promote its foundation of trust and open communication. The event was opened by Chief Executive Officer Nadeem Bajwa. The CEO spoke on the present situation and future plans of Descon and elucidated challenges Descon is facing through radical transparency in terms of business growth and revenues. The aim was to keep all the employees aware of the progress made in the last years and to set the road map for the way forward. Emphasizing the company’s purpose of existence and vision, Nadeem said, “We are the differentiators because we have the right people and the right competence. – PR