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Pakistan has formally requested an additional $300 million from the World Bank to cover cost escalation on the 1,410 MW Tarbela 5th Hydropower Project. The request is the second top-up under the existing Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project loan, the parent facility through which the Bank is funding the broader Tarbela Dam expansion.
The Central Development Working Party has approved Karachi's K-IV water scheme at a revised cost of Rs172 billion, nearly ten times the original Rs15.8 billion estimate set in 2007. The project's carrying capacity has been cut from 650MGD to 260MGD, and a 50MW electricity supply for its pumping stations forms a key part of the approved scope.
Unpaid dues totalling Rs704 billion across Pakistan's gas and power sectors are severely straining the country's fuel supply chain as of July 2026. SNGPL alone carries Rs536 billion in overdue liabilities, while power sector receivables add a further Rs168 billion, some dating back to FY2019.
Flood flows have improved water availability at Sindh's three major barrages in 2026, but tail-end farmers in lower Sindh continue to report acute shortages well into late July. IRSA's reservoir-filling priorities, WAPDA's Tarbela Dam rehabilitation works, and chronic internal irrigation governance failures have all contributed to the crisis.
Pakistan's Federal Constitutional Court has overturned Sindh High Court orders that allowed the Nai Gaj Dam contractor to claim price escalation beyond the original contract, directing completion under the original agreement and the 2021 MoU. The FCC also barred all further court intervention in the project's execution until the dam is finished.
Construction works inside Tarbela Dam's tunnels have disrupted Indus River water releases during the 2026 kharif season, leaving Sindh's paddy growers without enough irrigation water to transplant seedlings. The shortfall has triggered an interprovincial dispute, with Balochistan blaming Sindh for withholding due water shares from Guddu and Sukkur barrages.
WAPDA has formally approved TrafoLink (Pvt) Ltd as a qualified supplier of power transformers and medium-voltage panels following an extensive technical evaluation. The listing allows TrafoLink to participate in WAPDA procurement programmes and reinforces Pakistan's push to source critical grid equipment from domestic manufacturers.
Barclays has upgraded Pakistan's dollar-denominated sovereign bonds to 'overweight' and specifically recommended buying the 2031 WAPDA bond, reversing a downgrade issued just one month earlier. The move, driven by an improved oil market outlook and stronger external buffers, could ease fuel cost pressure on electricity bills across Pakistan.
The FPCCI has formally objected to the IGCEP 2025-35, telling NEPRA the plan's PLEXOS-based costing is fundamentally flawed and that its cheapest tariff projection of Rs. 49 per unit has never been tested for consumer affordability. The federation warns that committing over $57 billion to generation and transmission offers no guarantee that consumer tariffs will stay at or below today's Rs. 33.38 per unit average.
Pakistan has tabled the Wapda Security Force Act, 2026 in parliament to create a dedicated force guarding hydel infrastructure and workers at major water-sector sites. The bill follows two deadly terrorist attacks on the over $6 billion Dasu Hydropower Project that suspended construction for more than a year.
WAPDA reports that Tarbela Dam has generated 586 billion units of electricity and delivered $460 billion in economic benefits to Pakistan in the 50 years since 1974. The dam's fifth extension, backed by $690 million from the World Bank and AIIB, is under active construction and will raise total installed capacity from 4,888MW to 6,418MW.
Pakistan's Central Development Working Party publicly rebuked WAPDA on Thursday over massive cost overruns and transparency failures on the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and Tarbela 5th Extension projects. The Tarbela 5th Extension alone has ballooned from an original Rs82 billion estimate to Rs316.4 billion and has been referred to ECNEC for urgent review.