ISLAMABAD - As many as overall 97.5 per cent work has already been completed on the strategically important 969 MW Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project and its wet testing will be carried out in March.

This was stated by Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project Chief Executive Officer Brig (R) Muhammad Zareen while taking to APP. He said 100 per cent concrete work of the project had already been completed besides 98 per cent dry test of the equipments.

The CEO said that National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) would hand over 500 kV transmission line on February 11-12 after which feed back of switch- yard would be assessed.

Muhammad Zareen said that water filling (pressurization) of its water way system comprising 51.5-kilometer long tunnels has also been commenced in January. He said the project was fast heading towards completion and most of the works - critical in nature - had been successfully completed.

Construction of the weir (dam) of the project, water way system, installation of electrical and mechanical equipments including turbines, generators and transformers in the power house and the switch-yard and dry-testing of these equipments had already been completed, he said.

Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project is being constructed on river Neelum in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The project is an engineering marvel with 90 percent of the project being underground in the high mountain areas.

It is worth mentioning that Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project is a component of least-cost energy generation plan, being implemented by WAPDA on priority.

It has four generating units, each of them having a capacity of 242.25 MW. The first unit will start electricity generation in March this year, followed by the second third and fourth units at one month interval respectively.

The project will provide about five billion of low-cost and environment-friendly electricity to the national grid every year. Annual benefits of the project have been estimated at Rs 50 billion.