The dam construction fund, which collected about 5.6 billion yen, spent about 8 billion yen on advertising expenses and turned out to be in the red, leading to a credit collapse.


by

US Embassy Islamabad

In Pakistan, heavy rains caused by climate change caused flooding that submerged one-third of the country at the end of August 2022, causing the worst damage ever, with more than 2,000 deaths. Behind the flood damage, the huge dam project strongly promoted by the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan , said, 'More than the donations collected for the construction costs, the publicity expenses for the donation campaign were too much. It's too big,' he criticized.

Pakistan Strange Feat, 40 Million Dollor for the Dam 63 Million Dollor Spent for Advertisement | तान का अजीबो अजीबो गरीब कारनामा कारनामा मिले मिले मिले मिलियन डॉलर डॉलर
https://www.abplive.com/news/world/pakistan-strange-feat-40-million-dollar-for-the-dam-63-million-dollar-spent-for-advertisement-2217317

Pakistanis Donated $40M to Build a Dam. Their Government Spent $63M On Its Ads.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/epzbea/diamer-bhasha-dam-fund-40million-ads-scandal-pakistan-floods

Pakistan collected $40 million from public to build dam, then spent $63 million on advertising it
https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/topstories/pakistan-collected-40-million-from-public-to-build-dam-then-spent-63-million-on-advertising-it/ ar-AA11QZx4

In the early 1980s, a proposal was made to build the Diamabasha Dam on the Upper Indus River in Pakistan. The Diamabasha Dam was expected to produce 4,800 megawatts of electricity through hydroelectric power generation, store 10.5 km 3 of water for irrigation and drinking purposes, and limit flooding of the Indus River. However, due to many factors such as site selection, environmental impact, and cost, it did not reach the stage of actual construction.

In 2017, as China intervened in Pakistan's domestic business, it offered to help pay for the dam, but the Pakistani government refused. At this time, China estimates that the construction cost of the Diamar Bash dam will cost about 3.32 trillion Pakistani rupees (about 2 trillion yen).

In July 2018, Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the government to begin construction of the Diamabasha and Momund Dams to address water shortages. Mr. Sakib Nisar, who was the chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court at that time, donated 1 million Pakistani rupees (about 600,000 yen) for dam construction and established a dam construction fund. Later, then-Prime Minister Imran Khan co-founded the construction fund for the Diamabasha Dam, soliciting donations from the public.



In Pakistan, it was reported every day that the Pakistan national cricket team and famous musicians had donated to the fund. Also, part of the salaries of military personnel and civil servants was donated, collecting 1 billion Pakistan rupees (about 600 million yen). Mr. Nisar said, 'If we collect donations from Pakistanis living abroad, 200 billion Pakistani rupees (about 120 billion yen) will be gathered.'

However, as of January 2019, a total of 9.29 billion Pakistani rupees (approximately 5.615 billion yen) has been donated to the construction fund for the Diamar Basha Dam and the Mormand Dam, and the minimum required amount is still 1 trillion. It turned out that 500 billion Pakistani rupees (about 900 billion yen) was not enough, and it was found that it was almost impossible to complete the dam.

In addition, Iqbal Ahsan, a member of the Pakistani parliament, said, 'The dam fund's advertising costs exceeded the amount raised.' According to Iqbal, advertising costs for the construction fund, which raised about 9 billion Pakistan rupees, cost 13 billion Pakistan rupees (about 7.85 billion yen), and the amount spent on this advertising campaign was paid by Mr. Nisar. argued that it should be collected.

In response to a series of scandals, a Pakistani has also appeared on Twitter, saying, 'I shouldn't have donated.'




In response to the campaign's publicity expenses exceeding the donations and resulting in a large deficit, Mr. Nissar said at a lecture, 'The purpose of raising funds is not to actually build a dam, but to raise awareness.' , garnered great criticism. The Pakistani government has confirmed Iqbal's claims and has summoned Nissar to parliament.

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