The New Bong Escape Hydropower Project is a privately owned 84 MW

run-of-the-river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amou ...

project located on

Jhelum River The Jhelum River is a major river in South Asia, flowing through India and Pakistan, and is the westernmost of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian-administered territory of Jammu ...

7.5 km downstream of the 1,070 MW

Mangla Dam The Mangla Dam () is a multipurpose dam situated on the Jhelum River, lying in the Mirpur District of Pakistan administered Azad Kashmir and the Jhelum District in Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the List of largest dams, sixth-large ...

, a major multi-purpose water storage project commissioned. It is about 120 km from

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, the capital city of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The project commenced commercial operations on 23 March, 2013 and has the distinction of being Pakistan and AJ&K’s first hydropower IPP. By developing a bankable framework this trendsetting project has paved the way for rapid and full scale development of Pakistan and AJ&K’s hydropower potential. The project is jointly owned by HUBCO and Laraib Group with an equity split of 75% and 25% respectively. The project has been developed under Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis, whereby it would be transferred to the Government of AJ&K free of cost at the end of a 25-year term.

Financing and cost

The project achieved Financial Closing on December 20, 2009. Total project cost is estimated at about US$235 million and financing is arranged at debt equity ratio of 75 / 25.

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

financing has been provided by

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

Islamic Development Bank The Islamic Development Bank (, abbreviated as IsDB) is a multilateral development finance institution that is focused on Islamic finance for infrastructure development and located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There are 57 shareholding member st ...

International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C. and a member of the World Bank Group that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private ...

, and the French origin Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique (“PROPARCO”) whereas PKR financing has been provided by

Habib Bank Limited Habib Bank Limited (often abbreviated as HBL) is a Pakistani bank headquartered at Habib Bank Plaza, Karachi with regional offices in Lahore and Islamabad. It is a subsidiary of Swiss-based organisation Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development ( ...

(“HBL”) and

National Bank of Pakistan National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) is a Pakistani government-owned multinational commercial bank which is a subsidiary of State Bank of Pakistan. It is headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. As of December 2022, it has over 1,500 branches across Paki ...

(“NBP”).

Construction

The construction of the project started on December 29, 2009 under a fixed price, time certain EPC contract executed with Sambu Construction Company Limited of South Korea (“Sambu”) in June 2009. The water to wire E&M equipment package has been supplied by a leading E&M supplier;

Andritz Hydro Andritz AG is an international technology group, offering plants, equipment, systems and services for various industries. The group's headquarters are in Graz, Austria. The group gets its name from the district of Andritz (Graz), Andritz in whi ...

under a subcontract with Sambu.

Hyundai Engineering Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd. or HEC is a company established in 1974. As a global engineering solutions firm that plays a leading role in the areas of plants, architecture, infrastructure and asset management, Hyundai Engineering is expanding ...

is the design subcontractor of the EPC Contractor. Construction of the project was monitored by Owner’s Engineer consisting of joint venture of Montgomery Watson Harza (“MWH”) and National Engineering Services of Pakistan (“NESPAK”) while

Mott MacDonald The Mott MacDonald Group is a management, engineering and development consultancy headquartered in the United Kingdom. It employs over 19,000 staff in 150 countries. Mott MacDonald is one of the largest employee-owned companies in the world. ...

of UK are the Technical Advisors to the Financiers and were responsible for construction and environmental monitoring on their behalf.

Operation

The project achieved commercial operation date on March 23, 2013 which was two months ahead of the required commercial operations date under the PPA. The operation and maintenance of the project is being carried out by Hub Power Services Limited, a subsidiary of HUBCO. The project insurances have been placed offshore with leading insurance companies through

Marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

, who are the Insurance Advisor and Broker of Record for the Project.

Distribution

Other Concession Documents package includes the GOP Implementation Agreement with

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

, AJ&K Implementation Agreement with AJ&K Entities (i.e. Government of AJ&K and AJ&K Council), Water Use Agreement with Government of AJ&K and Land Lease Agreements with Government of AJ&K. Under its guarantee (.i.e. the GOP Guarantee), Government of Pakistan has guaranteed the payment obligations of NTDC, Government of Pakistan and Government of AJ&K under the Concession Documents.

Hydrology and technical details

A concrete lined Head-race channel is used to convey the water from Bong Pond to power house. The project does not involve the construction of a dam or reservoir nor does it affect the existing water management regimes. It withdraws water released from the existing

and returns that water to the main stem of the

through a 7.5 km long tailrace constructed in a sub-channel of the Jhelum River. The project does not affect upstream or downstream hydrology of the Jhelum River due to its run of the river nature and is having positive environmental and social impacts. Energy generated through the four 21 MW low head high efficiency Kaplan Bulb turbines, housed in a semi submerged powerhouse complex, is evacuated through an in-out connecting arrangement with the double circuit 132 kVA Mangla/Kharian transmission line, which passes over the Project site. No right-of-way acquisition was needed since connection facility has been built within the Project site. The project uses the water being discharged from the upstream existing hydropower plant (1,070 MW Mangla Hydroelectric Power Station) located at Mangla Dam. The raising of Mangla Dam has been completed recently by the Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), and will result in increase in the storage capacity of the Mangla Dam (“Mangla Dam Raise Project”). The Mangla Dam Raise Project will provide better regulated water to the Project.

Noteworthy achievements

Pakistan's first Independent Hydropower Plant (IPP), it was awarded Middle East Renewable Deal of the Year 2009 by

Euromoney ''Euromoney'' is an English-language monthly magazine focused on business and finance. First published in 1969, it is the flagship production of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc. History and profile ''Euromoney'' was first published in 19 ...

. New Bong Escape was also the first Hydropower Project in Pakistan / AJ&K to be registered as a

Clean Development Mechanism The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a United Nations-run carbon offset scheme allowing countries to fund greenhouse gas emissions-reducing projects in other countries and claim the saved emissions as part of their own efforts to meet internat ...

(CDM) project by CDM Executive Board under the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the UN process for negotiating an agreement to limit dangerous climate change. It is an international treaty among countries to combat "dangerous human interference with th ...

on January 31, 2009.

References

External links

Laraib Group

CDM: The 84 MW New Bong Escape Hydropower Project, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan

HUBCO
{{Jhelum River dams Dams in Pakistan Run-of-the-river power stations Dams on the Jhelum River 2013 establishments in Pakistan Energy infrastructure completed in 2013 Hydroelectric power stations in Pakistan Dams completed in 2013