‘Gomal Zam designed to perform several dam functions’

Wapda chief Shakil Durrani says dam will provide water for irrigation, mitigate floods and produce low-cost power.

LAHORE: The Gomal Zam Dam has been designed to perform several functions of a dam to significantly contribute to socioeconomic development of militancy-hit frontier regions, according to the Water and Power Development Authority.

“It will not only provide water for irrigation but also aid the mitigation of floods and produce low-cost hydel electricity,” Wapda chairperson Shakil Durrani said during an inspection visit to the project which is under construction in South Waziristan Agency.

Durrani said that the dam will store 1.14 million acre feet (MAF) of water which will irrigate 163,000 acres of land. Additionally, he said, the dam has an electricity generation capacity of 17.4 megawatts. “It will contribute 91 million units of electricity annually to the national grid, which is sufficient to supply power to about 25,000 households in the area,” he said.

The chairperson visited the project’s main dam, which has been constructed, as well as the reservoir which is in the process of being filled.

In his briefing to Durrani, Wapda General Manager (North) Projects Rashid Ali Khan Bangash said that the power house is near completion. The irrigation system, a 63-kilometre-long lined main canal and a 204-kilometre-long distributaries are under construction, Bangash said.