Gomal Zam Dam completes test run

Sources within Wapda say that during the 36-hour test run the dam generated power and released water for irrigation.

DI KHAN:

The multi-purpose Gomal Zam Dam started power generation on a test basis on Friday, officials of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) told The Express Tribune.

Sources within Wapda said that during the 36-hour test run the dam generated power and released water for irrigation. Gomal Zam Dam which will generate 17.4 megawatts of power, benefiting 25,000 households, was formally handed over to Wapda on Friday, they said.

The dam constructed at Khajori Kach in South Waziristan Agency was completed as a joint venture of Pakistan and China. USAID provided a grant of $40 million for the project under an MoU signed with Wapda.

The dam having the capacity to store 114,000 cubic feet of water will irrigate 163,000 acres in Tank and DI Khan districts through a 60.5-kilometre-long canal.

The idea of building a dam in the Khajori area of South Waziristan was first floated by British army engineers in 1898.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2014.