By Ayesha Saba ISLAMABAD, May 16 (INP-WealthPK):  After the Tarbela and Mangla, Diamer-Bhasha is the third multipurpose dam that Pakistan is building to meet its growing electricity and water needs. The dam will have a gross water storage capacity of 8.1-million-acre-feet (MAF) to irrigate 1.23 million acres of additional land. Moreover, with an installed power generation capacity of 4,500 megawatts (MW), this project will provide more than 18 billion units per annum to the national grid. The project is being executed by a Chinese state-run company, China Power, and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) of Pakistan Army. A Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) spokesperson told WealthPK that in the face of continued population growth, construction of large dams like Diamir-Bhasha was the best available option to sustain future socioeconomic development. Moreover, he said, “Pakistan sees hydropower dams as an approach to alleviate the negative impacts of droughts and flooding that are likely to increase in the coming decades as well.” “Pakistan is blessed with abundant renewable energy sources like wind, solar, bagasse and hydro. Because hydroelectric power plants burn no fuel, their operating costs are low and are immune to rising fossil fuel prices.” The Wapda spokesperson said that hydropower plants were playing a significant role in keeping electricity costs affordable for consumers, creating a positive impact on the economy. “Therefore, the government is putting added focus on the development of renewable energy in the country to reduce reliance on imported fuels,” he added. In Pakistan, the share of installed capacity of hydropower plants in the generation mix as on 30-06- 2021 was 24.96% with a total installed capacity of 9,915MW comprising 9,443MW of Wapda and 472MW of independent power producers. The generation from these power plants during financial year 2020-21 remained 38,800.55 gigawatts, which was 27% of the total generation of 143,588.60 gigawatts during the financial year. As per the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan-2021 of NTDC, hydropower projects of around 13,000MW, both committed and candidate projects, in the public and private sectors are stipulated for commissioning during the current decade.