Pehur High Level Canal

The Pehur High-Level Canal (PHLC) Project is located in the North-West

Frontier Province (NWFP). The province covers 10 million ha and has a total population
of 17.5 million, of which 83% live in rural areas and are predominantly dependent on
agriculture. Current agriculture production levels in NWFP cannot meet the basic food
needs of its population. An estimated 1.7 million ha per year are cultivated in NWFP but
only 0.9 million ha are irrigated. The project area is located at the far reaches of the
Upper Swat Canal (USC) system, and suffers from inadequate water supply, water
logging, and salinity.
The main aim of the Project is to realize the full agricultural potential of about
40,300 ha in the project area by (i) alleviating shortage of irrigation supplies to about
35,800 ha at the far reaches of the USC; (ii) reclaiming about 6,000 ha of waterlogged
land within the USC command area; and (iii) providing irrigation development for about
4,500 ha of mainly rain-fed land outside USC command in Topi Priority Area (TPA). The
Project also intended to increase agricultural production in the adjacent Swabi Salinity
Control and Reclamation Program (SCARP) Project (SSP) area by supplementing its
water resources and allowing additional irrigation development of about 4,000 ha of
mainly rain-fed land. To achieve these objectives, the Project had four components: (i)
irrigation and drainage improvement and development; (ii) measures for accelerating
agriculture development, capitalizing on improved irrigation and drainage conditions
(Agriculture Development Component [ADC]); (iii) land resource conservation study;
and (iv)Environment and benefit monitoring and evaluation (BME) program.
The PHLC off takes from Gandaf tunnel to serve mainly as a link canal carrying
water to feed the Machai Branch Canal from the Tarbela reservoir. The designed flow
rate at the Gandaf tunnel outlet is 27.11 cubic meters per second, while the maximum
lateral and/or turnout discharges along the canal total about 2.9 cubic meters per second.
The designed cross sections of the PHLC are typically parabolic concrete lined shape of
15.04 m and 3.75 m maximum depth. When routed through a rock cutting the canal is
changed to a rectangular or trapezoidal cross sections and its longitudinal slope increased
from 0.0002 to 0.0005 in order to reduce the volume of cut. Transitions sections are
introduced at canal structures such as cross-regulators and siphons.
Total length of the PHLC is about 26.2 km including two siphons and a tunnel.
The first siphon called Kundal siphon connects with canal reaches at RD 2+961 and RD
4+487. The Badri siphon, the second one, connects canal reaches at RD 19+300 and RD
21+338. The Baja tunnel exist between the siphons to connect canals. Properly sized twin
AVIO gates are proposed to be installed at the downstream end of the siphons and the
tunnel. Twin AVIS gates are also proposed to be installed.
Technical Data
Construction of the PHLC 26.2 km
Construction of new tunnels 5.1 km
Total irrigation area 40,300 ha
New irrigation area 4,500 ha
Remodelling of canals 132 km
Remodelling of drains 280 km
Sub-surface drainage area 6000 ha

Benefits of Project
The Project was efficacious in achieving its immediate development objectives and
purpose. The quantifiable benefits of the Project include the incremental increase in crop
production after 1998, when the Project began. An underlying key assumption at
appraisal was that measurable incremental crop benefits would begin to accrue in 1999.
However, according to PCR estimates, incremental crop production benefits were taken
when benefits actually began to accrue in each part of the four domains of the Project
area. Full development is expected from 2008 to 2014 (compared with the appraisal
estimate of 2009 because of the circumstances of different project areas . The economic
internal rate of return (EIRR) was reevaluated using the same approach as at appraisal.
The reestimated EIRR was based on investments made from 1995 to 2005 and
incremental benefits gained from 1999 onward. The EIRR reestimated at project
completion as 12.0% compares well with the appraisal estimate of 15.4% and the
December 1996 estimate of 11.6%. The reestimated EIRR shows that the investment
choice was sound even though the EIRR was lower than predicted. The EIRR is still
slightly above the opportunity cost of capital and shows that the Project was efficient in
achieving its purpose.
• Increase in Water Supplies and Reduction in Water Losses
• Reduction in Labor
• Reduction in Conflicts
• Increased Crop Production
• Increased Command Area
• Increased Production
• Increase and Changes in Cropping Intensity
• Increase in Crop Yields
• Additional Farm Labor generated
• Non-farm Income
• Improvement in Farming Support Services