Establishing a national hydropower training institute located near the Mangla hydropower station, set to be a state-of-the-art facility, has run into snags, and, according to reports remains incomplete. Even though all financial and human resources were made available for the project during the period 2013-2018, there has been inordinate delay of more than three years in its being operative as planned due to a variety of factors.
Establishing a national hydropower training institute located near the Mangla hydropower station, set to be a state-of-the-art facility, has run into snags, and, according to reports remains incomplete. Even though all financial and human resources were made available for the project during the period 2013-2018, there has been inordinate delay of more than three years in its being operative as planned due to a variety of factors.
Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) had taken an initiative in 2013 to establish a Hydropower Training Institute (HPTI) at Mangla, by refurbishing, upgrading, and transforming its existing small-scale hydel training centre that was established in 1977 and currently relies on limited and obsolete equipment and courses. Planned to be the Centre of Excellence in Hydropower Technology at a cost of Rs568 million, it is being set up with technical and financial assistance from the European Union. The broad-based institute will function as an apex body for human resource development for the hydropower sector, catering to the modern needs of WAPDA and the Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
The proposed institute will be a dedicated institution for advanced training of mechanical, electrical and electronics engineers at the middle- and senior-level management — working in various fields of hydropower — to incorporate state-of-the-art technologies in future projects. The varied courses offered, short-term as well as long-term, will cover overarching concepts related to planning, construction, and operation of hydropower projects. They will deal with current international trends, focusing on economic, financial, climate change and environmental and social issues. The institute will thus create a pool of trained and skilled engineers, operators, technicians, and other professionals capable of contributing to sustainable and efficient development of hydropower resources. Hydro-rich countries like Switzerland, Norway, India, and Nepal are successfully operating similar institutes that offer bachelor and master’s degrees in hydropower engineering.
The project was approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) in November 2013, while the European Union committed a grant of €2.5 million. In addition, a soft loan of €1.5 million was given by France through the French Development Agency (AFD). Initiation of the project dates to April 2011, when the assessment mission of the AFD visited Pakistan to analyse existing training facilities in hydropower, in the context of projecting future needs.
The mission recommended upgrading WAPDA’s existing Hydel Training Centre at Mangla to the level of an institute for imparting advanced training and offering postgraduate course in hydropower technology, in the first phase primarily for WAPDA’s engineers and technologists who are already working in various hydropower plants in public sector.
Physical activities on the project commenced in 2017 with the construction of new main building and infrastructure, which has been completed. High-tech infrastructure facilities for conducting different courses are being provided at the institute. Main building thus consists of an auditorium, lecture halls, laboratory, latest audio/video system, a library, demonstration models and a hydro-training simulator. The hydraulic parts, generator, transformer, and auxiliary electrical systems of a plant are taken care of in the simulation. Training workstations, instruments and devices have already been arranged. Teach-ware (scale and cutaway models including 3D-PDF models) and hydropower simulation software are being procured now. The Mangla hydropower plant, of 1,000MW installed capacity, which is currently being upgraded to 1,310MW, will serve as the ‘teaching hydropower station’.
Training will encompass all the facets of a hydropower project, including hydraulic structures, hydraulic turbines and governors, generators, auxiliary plant, cables and earthing system, transformers, switchgears, control and protection systems, and software and hardware systems. In the first phase of its operation, focus will be on modern maintenance O&M techniques, latest computerised maintenance management systems, and comprehensive knowledge of different stages of developing a new hydropower project. In subsequent years, the courses will also cover civil works design, construction, and other aspects such as tunnelling, geology, topography, hydrology, and safety related to power plants, dams, reservoirs, and other water sector projects, as well as design of electro-mechanical equipment. Later, the courses on project planning, project financing, preparation of feasibility studies of hydropower projects and CDM project methodology will also be included in the syllabus.
Services of European experts will be acquired as instructors and teachers. The institute will later be converted into a centre of excellence in hydropower and transformed into an independent institute in the next phase, likely to be run in collaboration with an international teaching institute in Europe that specialises in hydropower technology. A master’s degree in hydropower technology will be awarded to graduate engineers having experience in hydropower, on successful completion of one-year theory and practice courses. Consultants are planned to be engaged for preparing a 10-year business plan to operate the multi-disciplinary institute on a self-financing basis. About 500 persons are expected to benefit from this institute yearly when completely functional.
At present, Pakistan has an installed capacity 9,929MW hydropower, generating over 38.8 TWh (terawatt hours) annually, which constitute more than 25 per cent of overall energy mix at national level. WAPDA owns and operates many of these power stations, while many projects are under-construction including Mohmand, Diamer Basha, Dasu, and Tarbela 5th Extension. It is one of the largest employers of human resource. It has developed a skilled workforce over a period of decades, which is indeed a reservoir of knowledge, competence, and expertise, successfully developing and operating large, medium, and small hydropower stations countrywide. It has focused on ensuring the availability of trained manpower to meet present and future needs, and runs an Engineering Academy (Water and Power) at Faisalabad for the purpose, which imparts comprehensive training on the geotechnical and rock mechanic aspects of hydropower projects to senior civil engineers. Meanwhile, the old hydel training centre at Mangla housed in new building is running the courses regularly to train WAPDA engineers and staff as well as refresher courses.
The vision of the present government is to tap optimally the tremendous potential of hydropower and renewable energy, increasing its share progressively to 60 per cent in total energy by 2030, as reflected in the National Electricity Policy 2021. It is therefore of strategic importance to build-up the expertise in the areas of developing and operating hydropower projects and in the environmental management. The Hydropower Training Institute, once functional as planned, can fully meet the aspirations, and therefore need to be completed without further delay.
The writer is retired chairman of the State Engineering Corporation
