The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (), colloquially known as WAPDA, is a Pakistani government-owned public utility agency maintaining hydropower and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power plants. WAPDA includes the Tarbela and Mangla dams among its most notable resources. It is headquartered in Lahore. The current chairman of WAPDA is Lt. General (R) Muhammad Saeed, who has held the position since August 2025.
History WAPDA was established by an act of parliament in 1958Water and Power Development Authority to unify the maintenance of infrastructure previously overseen by provincial agencies. Its chairmen included notable civil servants such as Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Ghulam Faruque Khan, and Aftab Ghulam Nabi Kazi, who later served as president of Pakistan, minister for commerce, and economic adviser, respectively. In October 2007, the management of thermal power was transferred to the newly formed Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO).
WAPDA Water vision 2025 WAPDA formulated a comprehensive $25–33 billion National Water Resource and Hydropower Development Programme, entitled Water Vision 2025. The Water Vision 2025 projects are expected to generate 16,000 MW of hydroelectricity. Other goals are to prevent water shortages, limit drought and increase water storage for a growing population. Five massive hydropower projects have been announced by the President of Pakistan; these are to be completed by 2016, with a generation capacity of 9,500 MW. Two of the projects are ready for construction, while three are in the stages of feasibility studies and preparation of tender documents.(R H Siddiqui) Wapda 'Vision 2025' to help solve power crises The Nation, Published 24 September 2008, Retrieved 20 June 2021
Sporting teams
Hospitals There is a 260-bed WAPDA teaching hospital complex at Lahore providing medical services to those in need. Additionally, there are 50-bed hospitals at Tarbela, Peshawar, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Multan, Quetta and Guddu, and 20-bed hospital at Mangla and Sukkur, which are fully functional and proving in-house services in all major clinical disciplines.
Key WAPDA chairmen PeriodChairmanHighlights1958Ghulam Faruque KhanChairman of East Pakistan WAPDA1961Ghulam Ishaq KhanOversaw Mangla & Warsak Dam projects1960s (exact date unspecified)Aftab Ghulam Nabi KaziHonoured for Mangla Dam inauguration~2003Zafar MehmoodResigned citing personal reasons2016 – 2022Lt.General (R) Muzammil HussainSpearheaded "Decade of Dams" & green EurobondAug 2022 – Jun 2025Lt.General (R) Sajjad Ghani (23rd chairman)Continued infrastructure expansionJune 2025- August 2025Naveed Asghar Chaudhry (acting)4 August 2025Lt.General (R) Muhammad Saeed
See also
Electricity distribution companies of Pakistan Dams and reservoirs in Pakistan Electricity sector in Pakistan Economy of Pakistan Alternative Energy Development Board National Electric Power Regulatory Authority K-Electric
References