Mangla Dam

The Mangla Dam (Urdu: ‫منگال بند‬‎) is a multipurpose dam situated on the Jhelum River in the
Mirpur District of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. It is the sixth-largest dam in the world.
The village of Mangla, which sits at the mouth of the dam, serves as its namesake. In November
1961, the project's selected contractors were revealed; it was announced that Binnie & Partners,
a British engineering firm, was going to serve as the lead designers, engineers, and inspectors
for the construction of the dam (led by Geoffrey Binnie). The project was undertaken by a
consortium known as the Mangla Dam Contractors,[2] which consisted of eight American
construction firms sponsored by the Guy F. Atkinson Company based in South San Francisco,
California.[3]
It is a part of jehlum
 Mangla Dam

Aerial photograph of the Mangla Dam, c. 2012

Location of the Mangla Dam within

Pakistan

Country Pakistan

Location Mangla, Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Coordinates 33.142083°N 73.645015°E (https://geohack.toolfo

rge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Mangla_Dam&p
arams=33.142083_N_73.645015_E_type:landmark
_region:PK)

Status Operational

Construction began 1961

Opening date 1965
Construction cost ₨15.6 billion (US$1.5 billion)

Owner(s) Government of Pakistan

Operator(s) Water and Power Development Authority

(WAPDA)

Dam and spillways

Type of dam Embankment dam

Impounds Jhelum River

Height 147 m (482 ft)

Length 3,140 m (10,302 ft)

Reservoir

Creates Mangla Lake

Total capacity 9.12 km3 (7,390,000 acre⋅ft)

Catchment area 33,334 km2 (12,870 sq mi)

Surface area 250 km2 (97 sq mi)

Power Station

Turbines 10 x 100 MW

Installed capacity 1,150 MW (15% overload)

1,500 MW[1] (max. planned)

Background
Mangala Dam from the top of Ramkot fortress

Picture taken on the Mirpur city side of Lake, near sunset.

As part of the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960, India gained rights to the waters of the Ravi,
Sutlej and Beas rivers, while Pakistan, in addition to the waters of the aforementioned three
rivers' sections within Pakistani territory and some monetary compensation, received the rights
to develop the Jhelum, Chenab and Indus river basins. Until 1967, the entire irrigation system of
Pakistan was fully dependent on unregulated flows of the Indus River and its major tributaries.
The agricultural yield was very low for a number of reasons, the most significant being a lack of
water during critical growing periods. This problem stemmed from the seasonal variations in
river flow due to monsoons and the absence of storage reservoirs to conserve the vast amounts
of surplus water during those periods of high river discharge.[4][5]

The Mangla Dam was the first of the two dams constructed to reduce this shortcoming and
strengthen the irrigation system of the country as part of the Indus Basin Project, with the other
being the Tarbela Dam situated on the Indus River in Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Construction

Cost
The Mangla Dam was constructed at a cost of ₨15.587 billion (US$1.473 billion) with funding
being provided by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.[6]

Reservoir

The dam was constructed between 1961 and 1965 across the Jhelum River in the Mirpur District
of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, about 108 kilometres (67 mi) southeast of the capital city of
Islamabad. The Mangla Dam components include a reservoir, main embankment, intake
embankment, main spillway, emergency spillway, intake structures, 5 tunnels
, and a power
station. Besides the main dam, a dyke called Sukian – 17,000 feet in length and a small dam
called Jari Dam to block the Jari Nala – about 11 miles beyond the new Mirpur town had to be
constructed.

There was a total of 120 x 106 cubic yards (cu yds) of excavation for the reservoir whereas the
total fill amounted to 142 x 106 cu yds and concrete to 1.96 x 106 cu yds respectively. The main
embankment is earthfill with clay as the core material. Gravel and A-type sandstone are applied
on the shoulders. The maximum height of embankment above the core trench is 454 feet and
the length is 8,400 feet. The intake embankment is earthfill type with B-type sandstone as the
core material. Gravel is applied on the shoulders. The maximum height of the intake
embankment above the core trench is 262 feet and the length is 1,900 feet.

Sukian Dam is earthfill with B-type sandstone as the core material. A-type sandstone is applied
on the shoulders. The maximum height of the intake embankment above the core trench is 144
feet and the length is 16,900 feet.

Jari Dam is also an earthfill type with silt as the core material. Gravel is applied on the shoulders
of the dam. The maximum height of Jari dam above the core trench is 274 feet and the length is
6,800 feet. The main spillway is a submerged orifice type with 9 radial gates, 36 x 40 feet each; it
has a maximum capacity of 1.1 million cusecs. The emergency spillway is a weir type with an
erodible bund and a maximum capacity of 0.23 million cusecs. The 5 tunnels are steel and
concrete lined and 1,560 feet long in bedrock. The internal diameter ranges between 26 and 31
feet.[7]

Power house

The powerhouse, which consists of turbines, generators, and transformers, has been
constructed at the toe of an intake embankment at the ground surface elevation of 865  feet
SPD. The water to the powerhouse is supplied through five steel-lined tunnels of 30/26 feet
diameter. Each tunnel is designed to feed two generating units. The powerhouse tailrace
discharges into New Bong Canal, which has a length of 25,000  feet with a discharge capacity of
about 49,000 cusecs, and terminates at an automatic gate control headworks at about 12 km
downstream located near old Bong Escape Headworks.[8][9]

A view of turbine relief valve operation at Mangla Power House

There are ten vertical Francis type turbines in the powerhouse. Each of these turbines has an
output of 138,00 bhp with a rated head of 295 feet of water. The first four turbines were
manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric, Japan and were installed in 1969, turbines 5 and 6 are
manufactured by ČKD Blansko, the Czech Republic and were installed in 1974, turbines 7-8 were
manufactured by ACEC, Belgium and were installed in 1981, while the remaining two turbines are
a make of Škoda, Czech Republic and were commissioned in 1994.[1][8]

These turbines are connected to umbrella-type generators which have a generation capacity of
100 MW. Hitachi, Japan had provided generators for turbines 1–4 and 7-8 while Škoda
generators are connected to turbines 5-6 and 9-10.

These generators are in turn connected to three-phase transformers. The transformers

connected to turbines 1, 4, and 7 were manufactured by the Italy-based Savigliano. The
transformers for turbine 5 and 6 are a make of Italtrafo, another Italian company, while the
remaining five transformers were provided by Škoda.[8]

Displacement & Resettlement

The Government of Pakistan had agreed to pay royalties to the Government of AJK (Azad
Jammu and Kashmir) for the use of the water and electricity generated by the dam. Over 280
villages and the towns of Mirpur and Dadyal were submerged and over 110,000 people were
displaced from the area as a result of the dam being built.[10] Some of those affected by the dam
were given work permits for Britain by the Government of Pakistan, and as a result, in many
cities in the UK the majority of the Pakistani community originates from the Dadyal-Mirpur area
of Azad Kashmir.[11] There are 747,000 Mirpuris in the United Kingdom,[12] and the British Mirpuri
community forms about 70% of the British Pakistani community. The percentage is greater in
northern cities and towns. In Bradford, an industrial town in north-west England, it is estimated
that roughly three-quarters of the population is from Mirpur, with a sizeable population also in
Birmingham. At the time, many took up work in the textile and steel mills, due to the acute
shortage of workers in England.

Operation

The project was designed primarily to increase the amount of water that could be used for
irrigation from the flow of the Jhelum and its tributaries. Its secondary function was to generate
electrical power from the irrigation releases at the artificial head of the reservoir. The project,
though not initially designed as one, also works as a flood control structure by retaining water
during the flood-prone season of Monsoon.[11]

On 5 December 1971, the dam was damaged due to a bombing raid conducted by the Indian Air
Force during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. This was against the international convention that
large water reservoirs would not be targeted in war. As a consequence, the hydro project was
temporarily out of service.[13][14]

From the data available in 2009, the project had generated 183.551 billion units of low-cost
Hydel energy since its commissioning. The annual generation during 2008-2009 was 4797.425
Million KWh while the station shared a peak load of 1150 MW which was 8.18% of the total
WAPDA system peak.[8]

On 1 September 2013, the water level in Mangla Dam reached a record height of 1237.15 feet
against the maximum conservation level of 1242 feet. Radio Pakistan reported that "the water
level in Mangla Dam has attained the maximum height of 1237.15 feet in the history and it is still
increasing."[15]

Mangla Dam Raising Project

Mangla reservoir had an initial reservoir capacity of 7.25 billion cubic metres (5.88 million acre-
feet), which reduced to 5.77 billion m3 (4.674 million acre⋅ft) in 2005 due to the sedimentation &
was likely to reduce further. To counteract this phenomenon, the Mangla Dam Raising Project
was started in 2004 and the main dam, spillway and its allied works were completed in 2009 at a
cost of Rs. 101.384 billion. This project effectively raised the dam height by 30 feet to 482 feet
(147 m), thereby raising the maximum water conservation level from 1202 feet to 1242 feet.[1][16]
This increased the dam's storage capacity from 5.56 to 9.12 billion m3 (4.51 to
7.39 million acre⋅ft).[17] Besides, it is expected that after raising the height of the Mangla Dam by
30 feet, the power house will generate 12 percent additional energy per year which will increase
its installed capacity from 1,000 MW to 1,120 MW.[18]

The Mangla Dam Raising Project, however, has affected more than 40,000 people living in the
vicinity of the dam. The total cost of compensation and resettlement was Rs. 70 billion. The
resettlement project includes the construction of New Mirpur City, four satellite towns
(Islamgarh, Chakswari, Dadyal, Siakh) with all civic amenities, the Mirpur Bypass and two bridges
across River Jehlum and Bong Canal respectively.[7][19]

A motorbike passes over the Dhan Galli bridge, a recently constructed bridge on River Jhelum near the Mangla Dam.

Mangla Power House Expansion Project

Ambassador Olson with WAPDA Chairman pledging USAID support

In November 2012, United States announced a grant of $150 million for the expansion of the
Mangla Dam powerhouse. Under the project, $400 million would be spent on the Mangla Dam
powerhouse which is estimated to provide additional production for the next 40 years. The
project, when complete, will increase the power generation capacity of the Mangla Dam to 1,310
MW from the existing 1000 MW capacity. The dam was further expanded in the era of Pervez
Musharraf but it did not enhance the capacity of electric generation except increasing the level
of water in the dam.

See also

List of dams and reservoirs in Pakistan

List of hydroelectric power station failures

References

1. "UP-GRADATION AND REFURBISHMENT OF GENERATING UNITS OF MANGLA POWER STATION" (https://

web.archive.org/web/20120610151634/http://wapda.gov.pk/vision2025/htmls_vision2025/mangla.ht
ml) . Water and Power Development Authority. Archived from the original (http://wapda.gov.pk/vision20
25/htmls_vision2025/mangla.html) on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2013.

2. Muir Wood, Sir Alan (1990). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society: Geoffrey Morse Binnie
(13 November 1908 – 5 April 1989). London: Royal Society. pp. 45–57.

3. Alvi, Hamid. "Two Years of Mangla Dam Project." Trade and Industry: The International Monthly Economic
Journal of Pakistan. Spec. issue on Mangla Dam VIII.5 (1964): 633.

4. "Tarabela Dam" (http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0003769) . www.structurae.de.

Retrieved 9 July 2007.
 5. "Indus Basin Project" (http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-286834/Indus-Basin-project) . Encyclopædia
Britannica. Retrieved 9 July 2007.

6. "Water Dams: Mangla (http://www.wapda.gov.pk/htmls/water-dams-mangla.html) Archived (https://we

b.archive.org/web/20130730114947/http://wapda.gov.pk/htmls/water-dams-mangla.html) 2013-07-30
at the Wayback Machine". Water & Power Development Authority.this project included Mr Iqbal Hussein
and some other workers who did this work with much hardworking. Retrieved 10 August 2013.

7. "Pakistan Water Gateway: Mangla Dam" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131022123048/http://cms.wate

rinfo.net.pk/pdf/md.pdf) (PDF). IUCN Pakistan. Archived from the original (http://cms.waterinfo.net.pk/
pdf/md.pdf) (PDF) on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.

8. "Hydel Generation: Mangla Dam" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131022213335/http://wapda.gov.pk/ht

mls/pgeneration-dam-mangla.html) . Water & Power Development Authority. Archived from the original
(http://wapda.gov.pk/htmls/pgeneration-dam-mangla.html) on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 7 August
2013.

9. Butt, M. J., Waqas, A., and Mahmood, R. 2010, "The combined effect of Vegetation and Soil Erosion in the
Water Resource Management." Water Resource Management. 24(13), 3701-3714, Digital Object Identifier
(DOI): 10.1007/s11269-010-9627-7.

10. Terminski, Bogumil "development-induced Displacement and Resettlement: Theoretical Frameworks and
Current Challenges", Indiana University, 2013, available at:
http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/handle/10535/8833?show=full

11. "The Pakistani Muslim Community in England" (http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120919132

719/http:/www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1170952.pdf) (PDF). Archived from
the original (http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1170952.pdf) (PDF) on 19
September 2012.

12. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/the-2011-census/2011-census-questionnaire-
content/question-and-content-recommendations/kashmiri-research-project-2011---final-report.pdf

13. "Hunter Aircraft" (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/hunter.htm) . Global Security.org.

Retrieved 9 July 2007.

14. "Mangla Dam" (http://www.pakistanpaedia.com/mega/mangla_dam.html) . Pakistanpaedia. Retrieved

7 August 2013.

15. "Water level in Mangla Dam reaches to record height of 1237.15 feet" (https://archive.today/2013091014
3343/http://www.radio.gov.pk/newsdetail-52100) . Radio Pakistan. 1 September 2013. Archived from
the original (http://www.radio.gov.pk/newsdetail-52100) on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 1 September
2013.
16. "MANGLA DAM RAISING PROJECT" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110304062751/http://www.pepco.g
ov.pk/pdfs/Manglaraisingdata.pdf) (PDF). Pakistan Electric Power Company. Archived from the original
(http://www.pepco.gov.pk/pdfs/Manglaraisingdata.pdf) (PDF) on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 7 August
2013.

17. "Mangla Dam becomes largest water reservoir of Pakistan" (http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p

age=2013%5C08%5C26%5Cstory_26-8-2013_pg13_4) . Daily Times (Pakistan). 26 August 2013.
Retrieved 10 September 2013.

18. "Mangla Dam raising to add 120MW" (http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-133368-Mangla-Dam-

raising-to-add-120MW) . The News International. 22 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2013.

19. "Water storage in Mangla Dam reaches historic high" (http://tribune.com.pk/story/587315/water-storage-

in-mangla-dam-reaches-historic-high/) . The Express Tribune. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 10 September
2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mangla Dam.

Times Article about the Mangla Dam (https://web.archive.org/web/20070520101634/http://w

ww.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,712041,00.html)

Official Site of Mangla where Mangla Dam is located (https://web.archive.org/web/200902271

82302/http://manglavision.com/)

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Mangla_Dam&oldid=1047464389"

Last edited 2 months ago by RegentsPark