LAHORE:
The main dam of South Waziristan Agency’s Gomal Zam project has been completed and filling of the reservoir has also begun.
The dam has been completed by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The USAID came through with 40 million dollars at a crucial juncture when paucity of funds threatened to halt the project, which will provide water for agriculture and also generate low-cost hydro-electricity.
Benefits
Gomal Zam Dam is the first-ever mega water project in Fata. The dam can store 1.14 million acre feet of water to irrigate 163,000 acres of land.
On account of flood mitigation, benefits of the project have been estimated at $2.6 million annually.
The project, with a generation capacity of 17.4 megawatts of electricity, will also contribute 91 million units of electricity annually to the national grid, which is sufficient to supply electricity for about 25,000 households in the area.
The Gomal Zam Dam has three components, including a dam and a spillway, a powerhouse and an irrigation system.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2011.
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