Work resumes on Managi dam in Kunar

ASADABAD (Pajhwok): Work on the Managi Dam in eastern Kunar province has resumed after four years of delay and would be completed soon, the outgoing governor said on Sunday.

Governor Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal on his Facebook page wrote: “In cooperation with the Afghanistan Breshana Shirkat and support of some foreign engineers, work on the Managi Dam is resumed.”

He added after inspection of technical issues, the work would be soon completed and the dam would be ready.

He said work on the dam was started in 2013 but had to be delayed due for different reasons. The hydro-power facility in Watapur district has the capacity to produce 2.1 megawatt of electricity.

Mirzakwal said he recently launched efforts for resumption of work on the dam and some foreign engineers were brought to the country to complete work on the project.

He said the project was scheduled to be ready for inauguration last year but some technical issues and the spread of coronavirus delayed its completion.

Mirzakwal said completion of the Managi dam was his desire and hoped the dam would be completed before he leaves the office of the governor.

In line with presidential decree, Mirzakwal has been appointed as the governor of Kunduz province.

Addressing his farewell ceremony in Asadabad, he said that in the past two years he strived to improve security, vanquish Daesh militants, expand government writ and attract investment.

He added during his tenure 164 development projects worth 3.5 million were implemented.

Decades earlier, President Dawod Khan built a 700 kilowatt grad station in Asadabad but its capacity has declined to 300 kilowatt.

It is worth mentioning that two long rivers flow in Kunar province but the past governments had failed to build a major dam on the rivers.

Nh/ma