KABUL (SW): Afghan officials on Monday welcomed latest developments towards completion of Salma Dam in the western Herat province.
The Indian-sponsored multi-million dollars dam passed a critical stage on Sunday with closure of Diversion Tunnel Gate and start of filling of dam reservoir. Filling of 20-km long and 3.7 km wide dam reservoir is likely to take 9 to 12 months.
Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said during the cabinet meeting today the dame would not only lift agriculture but would also create jobs and provide much needed electricity. “This would bring positive change in lives of people in the southwest”. He pronounced it as a vital step forward towards slef-reliance.
Ali Ahmad Osmani, the Minister for Energy and Water thanked the government of India for its generous support for the project. Osmani briefed the journalists about the details related to the dam.
The dam located in the western Herat city near Iran has storage capacity of 640 million cubic meters. Afghanistan is likely to get around 42 MW of power from it besides improved irrigation facilities for some 80,000 hectares of land.
The dam was first conceived in the late 1970s during the government of Daud Khan. The project was left incomplete for a significant period of time due to the ongoing instability caused by the civil war. In January 2013, the Indian cabinet approved revised cost for the completion of the project and declared it would be completed in December 2014, or 2 years behind the previous schedule.
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