LAHORE - Wapda Chairman Shakil Durrani has said that hydropower projects in Pakistan provide excellent opportunities for investment due to their high economic rate of return. He expressed these views while talking to a delegation of Turkish investors, during their visit to Wapda House here on Monday. The delegation was led by Engin Aydin, President EA Consulting and Asil Gezen, President Tera International Group. Wapda Member (Water) Syed Raghib Abbas Shah, Pepco MD Rasul Khan Mahsud and Wapda Secretary Imtiaz Tajwar were also present on the occasion. While welcoming the delegation, the Chairman said that Wapda, in addition to its on-going projects, has planned to start construction work on a number of mega and medium-sized hydropower projects with cumulative generation capacity of about 25,000 MW during the next five years from this year onwards. 4500-MW Diamer Bhasha, 83 MW Kurram Tangi, 960-MW Tarbela 4th Extension, 4,320-MW Dasu, 740-MW Munda and 7,100-MW Bunji hydropower projects are to name a few, he added. He said that the international financial institutions have shown their keen interest in these projects, which reflects their trust in Wapda. He said that Turkish firms would also be welcomed to invest in these projects. Dilating upon their benefits, he maintained that these projects will not only cope with the increasing demand of electricity and water but also usher in a new era of socio-economic development in the country. The Turkish delegation, dilating upon their companies areas of interest, said that they are desirous to get involve in Pakistans energy sector. The matters related to financing the hydropower projects, transformer manufacturing and transmission switchyard and equipment were also discussed during the meeting. Later, a detailed presentation was made to the delegation on the existing and future projects of Wapda. The delegation was also informed about the facilities vis-a-vis reclamation of transformers available with the Wapda Foundation.