The exact cause remained a mystery more than sixty days after the closure of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHPP) that generates 969 megawatts of power.
Reports suggest that the issue could keep the Rs500 billion project, located near Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir, offline for 18 to 24 months. The decrease in pressure in the headrace tunnel (HRT) and the drainage of a 17-kilometer section indicate a significant problem, possibly a major crack or collapse, although the precise situation is still uncertain.
Despite its capacity, which sometimes exceeded 1,040 megawatts, the project annually supplied over 5 billion units of electricity to the national grid at an average tariff of about Rs10 per unit.
The shutdown of NJHPP leads to direct losses exceeding Rs55 billion annually, with indirect impacts including costly replacement fuel ranging between Rs90 billion and Rs150 billion.
On May 2, Wapda confirmed the shutdown for physical inspection of the HRT. A comprehensive plan for remedial works was to be developed in coordination with project consultants and international experts.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the site on May 7 and announced a third-party investigation. A formal committee, led by former federal secretary Shahid Khan and current Water Resources Secretary Syed Ali Murtaza, was constituted over two weeks later to investigate the construction flaws of NJHPP after the April 2, 2024 incident.
![Local residents at the Swat River, which is overflowing due to pre-monsoon heavy rains in the area on the outskirts of Mingora, the main town of Pakistan's Swat Valley [Sherin Zada/AP]](https://mmnews.tv/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Flooding-in-Swat-river-350x250.jpg)
