Uri Dam is a 480 MW hydroelectric power station on the Jhelum River near Uri in Baramula district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located very near to the Line of Control, the de-facto border between India and Pakistan.[1] The station is largely built under a hill with a 10 km tunnel. It is of the run-of-the-river type without a large dam, since the Indus Waters Treaty gives Pakistan the exclusive right to regulate the Jhelum River.[2]
Contents |
The project was awarded by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation in October 1989 to a European consortium called Uri Civil led by Swedish Skanska and including Swedish NCC and ABB and British Kvaerner Boving.[3] It was partially funded by the Swedish and British governments.
The workforce included about 200 foreigners and 4,000 Indians, many from the local area.[2] On March 31, 1991, the two Swedish engineers Jan Ole Loman and Johan Jansson were kidnapped by members of the Muslim Janbaaz Force, but managed to escape 97 days later.[4][5] This together with shelling across the border and unrest related to the burning of Charari Sharief and the siege of Hazratbal Shrine led to an 18 month delay.[1]
The project cost about Rs. 3,300 crore (about 450 million EUR or 660 million USD) and was completed in 1997.[1]
The station is operated by the NHPC. Plans to expand it with a 250 MW Uri-II plant were announced in 1998. The government of Pakistan has objected to this, saying it violates the Indus Waters Treaty.[6][7]