ZARANJ (Pajhwok): Local officials in southeastern Nimroz province say two phases of the Kamal Khan Dam have been completed and construction work on the third phase is being launched soon.
The dam is located 75 km from Zaranj, the provincial capital, on the Helmand River. The dam has the potential to generate eight megawatts of power besides irrigating more than 100,000 hectares of land.
The first phase works included a 3,400-meter long and 11-meter high wall east of the Helmand River.
The first phase contractor, a Tajik construction company, completed the first phase in 2011 at a cost of $10 million.
The second phase was kicked off in 2012 and has recently been completed at a cost of $15 million.
In the second phase, a similar wall on the other side of the river was constructed and the river’s bed cemented.
Nimroz governor Mohammad Sami said work on the third phase of Kamal Khan dam would be launched soon. He said the dam would bring under irrigation 120,000 hectares of land besides producing electricity.
The administrative head of Chahar Burjak district, where the dam is located, said Nimroz’s development depended on the Kamal Khan dam’s completion.
Mohammad Nabi said the dam project would create jobs for people, develop irrigation systems and electrify people’s homes.
Mohammad Nazar, a resident of the district, said the dam’s construction was part of former president Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan’s first five-year plan.
Construction work on the dam was launched in 1974 but after the death of the president, work on the dam was stopped.
One of the dam’s old employees, a cashier, said people were so happy at that time because they were able to irrigate their lands and avail electricity for the first time. But after the 1979 bloody coup, construction of the dam was stopped.
He recalled the Nur Mohammad Tarakai government built some apartments for the dam’s employees but they never worked and the equipment were also stolen.
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