MANGLA REFURBISHMENT PROJECT – AN INTRODUCTION

Mangla Dam Project was commissioned in 1967 primarily to increase the amount of water that can be used for
irrigation from the natural flow of the river Jhelum, and secondly to generate electrical power from the water being
released for irrigation purposes. Flood control was an added benefit of the original construction. Mangla Dam is
3140m long and 147m high covers a surface area of 251 km 2 with gross storage capacity of 10.2 billion cu.m. of
water.

The Powerhouse was constructed in four stages over a period from 1962 until 1994, resulting in four different
designs by the different suppliers of the generating units. The powerhouse has ten units of 100 MW each for a
total nameplate capacity of 1,000 MW at rated head.

In recent years, WAPDA completed a dam raise that changed the maximum conversation level from EL. 1202 ft
to EL. 1242 ft. increasing the available static head on the turbine generators from approximately 360 feet to 400
feet.

While power delivery is an important function of the overall project, the water rights are owned by Pakistan
irrigation entities and WAPDA does not have the right to alter the 10-day average water release schedule. Rather,
its job is to maximize the benefit obtained from the releases of water from the reservoir, which is regulated by
another Pakistani governmental agency.

In 2011 and 2012, MWH (Montgomery Watson Harza, USA) conducted a feasibility study to identify
improvements required to continue the reliable, safe and sustainable use of the power generation facility for
another life cycle. A number of equipment refurbishment alternatives were investigated and evaluated, ranging
from a baseline of making the fewest improvements necessary, to an opportunity-based approach that
considered the added benefits of replacing/upgrading the equipment so as to optimize plant performance,
consistent with the intended future use of the plant and reservoir by WAPDA and other government authorities.
The Mangla Hydropower station is being refurbished to increase its power generation capacity (35%) from 1 GW
to 1.3 GW.

Because of the dam raised (increasing head), older units nearing the end of their design life, other equipment
(e.g., controls, protection, instrumentation, switchgear) becoming obsolete, newer, and more-efficient power-
generation technologies, and increased domestic power demand, improvements to the plant have become both
more necessary and feasible. WAPDA is currently in the process of identifying, prioritizing, and grouping these
improvements in to individual Bid Packages.