US considers funding Pakistani dam project, angering India

[khurasaan1]

Freedom is everything....We cannot cost our freedom and liberty for just some pieces of change....There is no alternative to freedom and liberty for us Pakistanis....and I guess we don't need no aid from US in any form and we are feeling healthy without any kinda aid from US.....Alhamdolillah!.......

 

[ufone]

Dear friends,
A/A.
It is most unfortunate that neither our army nor our cival govt; r able to understand the crux of the prob. that actually is the relationship that has led us in this miserable condition & pushed our country into dark ages. We were & some of us still (especially those who r at the helm of affairs) r of the belief that making & keeping friends with the socalled superpower will bring prosperity & peace for us & keep the enemy at bay but the history has repeatedly proved otherwise. The period through which our country is passing is actually the gift of usa. It was a wise, bold & most welcomed decision to minimise the presence of Americans & closing the bases for them but, now it appears the same poison of $ is being injected at both levels to pave way into our country & its various instituations.
If allowed the const. to go throw with aid then there is every possibility that they will demand the same things which will eventually lead to law & order situation, more terrorism, spy networking, breaking china-pak relation, cornering pak, economic shutdown & the real motive of nuclear theft.
It is unfortunate that even our higher instituations r falling prey at their hands and r unable to understant the gravity of the problem that this move will bring with it.
Thanks.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

if Pakistanis actually paid their taxes completely (govt. servants included) and if there was less corruption (cant eliminate it completely) and some form of accountability ---we would be bankrolling these projects on our own damn terms

 

[Last Hope]

Here it goes. Not considering, checks have arrived.

“We are considering doing more in the sector,” said the department’s spokesperson Victoria Nuland, as media reports suggested that the US would also support the giant $12 billion Diamer-Bhasha dam project. – File Photo by Reuters

WASHINGTON: The United States has provided support to complete the final phases of two hydroelectric dams in Pakistan: Satpara in Gilgit-Baltistan and Gomal Zam in South Waziristan, the State Department has said.

“We are considering doing more in the sector,” said the department’s spokesperson Victoria Nuland, as media reports suggested that the US would also support the giant $12 billion Diamer-Bhasha dam project.

Ms Nuland noted that Pakistan had requested international community’s support for development of the Diamer-Bhasha project.

“We recognise that such a hydroelectric project would help meet many of Pakistan’s long-term energy and water needs, as well as advance social and economic development,” she said.

“We are considering how we can best support Pakistan’s request, as are other bilateral donors and multilateral financial institutions.”

The US, she said, had not yet made a final decision on this giant project but noted that providing support to such projects was part of a broader signature energy programme in Pakistan that the US announced in 2009.

“We continue to work with the government of Pakistan to determine how best to use US civilian assistance,” Ms Nuland said.

If the US agreed to support the Diamer-Bhasha dam, it would be the largest civilian aid project the US has undertaken in Pakistan in decades.

Asked if the US was concerned how its support for these projects would affect its ties with India, Ms Nuland said the United States had long supported development projects that enhance the daily lives of people throughout the region. “In doing so, we always take into account a project’s potential regional impact,” she added.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

$12b is a huge commitment though; it will be hard for the US officials to "sell" this idea to their Congress, especially with the current financial woes and unfavourable image of Pakistan existing in the US at this time.


it isnt just the dam you have to worry about....you also have to do constant feasibility assesments; entire villages have to be re-located. A lot of behind the scenes political considerations, etc.

if the project does take place though, it would be a huge milestone because it would help solve energy shortfalls and also ensure steady water supplies for agriculture (which is another thing we need to work on; efficient use of increasingly scare water supplies for our agragrian sectors)

 

[Omar1984]

US plans to extend financial support for Dam project

ISLAMABAD: The US is considering financial support for a $12 bln Diamer Basha Dam in an attempt to improve its battered image in the country, reports Guardian.

According the newspaper report, the Daimer Bhasha dam would provide enough electricity to end crippling shortages in he country.

“It is said its reservoir would hold so much water it could have averted last year’s devastating floods”, the Guardian report said.

It added that Washington has not yet made a final decision on the dam, but US money would be crucial in securing other international finance, especially from the Asian Development Bank. “Getting involved in a long-term project like this is very compelling for us, “ said a senior US official.

“This is the project we’re spending our time assessing”, the report remarked.

“This would demonstrate that Pakistan is the kind of country where you can do large, complex infrastructure projects. It’s not all flood relief and sacks of flour.”

The report added that at the end of last week, President Asif Ali Zardari met a team from the Asian Development Bank “to start the process of financing Daimer Bhasha dam as the project has been approved at all internal fora of the country according to a statement from his office. It added that the dam, which harks back to similar projects supported by Washington in the 1960s and 1970s, could help reset relations between the two countries.

The report further said that the dam, on the Indus river, would provide 4,500MW of cheap, green energy, making up for a shortfall causing up to 12 hours of power cuts a day across Pakistan. The reservoir would be 50 miles long.

Shakil Durrani, Chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority, said Islamabad had approved the dam project and he was confident of US backing. “If we had a reservoir the size of Daimer Bhasha the floods last summer would not have occurred,” he said. “This would be the largest project ever undertaken in Pakistan. It is our top priority.”

Analyst Mosharraf Zaidi agreed the dam could boost relations. “Daimer Bhasha would be tremendously good for Pakistan and would show that the US is invested in a long-term relationship with Pakistan.”, the report said.

It added that the US aid to Pakistan increased to $1.5 billion a year under the Obama administration, but has been widely dismissed in the country as going mostly to consultants and lacking focus. It remains unclear how much of this cash has actually arrived in Pakistan since the new aid programme began in 2009.

“US aid is neither visible nor tangible,” said Tariq Fatemi, a former Pakistani ambassador. “Unless the people of Pakistan can identify large, visible projects that make a difference to people ‘s lives, the US is not going to get the kind of appreciation that it believes it deserves.”, the report added.

The Guardian report said that the US official said Washington had spent $2bn on civilian assistance since October 2009, including $550m on flood relief last year, though that came from a separate fund.

Daimer Bhasha would take around eight years to build. Pakistani authorities plan to shortlist contractors later this year, the report added.



US plans to extend financial support for Dam project | Business | DAWN.COM

---------- Post added at 05:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:35 PM ----------

This can help heal Pakistan-U.S. relations.

Pakistan needs to construct this dam.

 

[IceCold]

US and India have too much at stake to be let is jeopardized by the relationship with Pakistan and in particular funding of this project. Lets see how things prevail but for sure this is definitely going to boost the US image which is always seen as a threat much bigger to Pakistan's existence then India.