Construction of Baluchistan’s biggest hydropower project, the Naulong Dam, has restarted, Gwadar Pro reported on Monday.
The dam will irrigate 47,000 acres of barren land and will provide 4.4MW of
electricity.
Issues related to the Naulong Dam have been sorted out and under the
direction of the Standing Committee on Water Resources, the Federal Board of
Revenue (FBR) released Rs 1,916 million for the construction of the Naulong
Dam to the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA).
The 186-feet high dam has a total storage capacity of 242,452 AFd. Live
storage is 200,000 AF. While the annual benefits to agriculture will be Rs
2.017 billion, power Rs 0.413 billion, and fisheries Rs 0.018 billion.
The Naulong Dam will create 23,500 agricultural jobs. It will help protect
the catchment areas from the deluge. The dam will irrigate areas near Jhal
Magsi, Gandawa, and khuzdar, which will boost economic activities and
strengthen farmer fraternity in the province.
The government expedited the construction of the Naulong dam. WAPDA already
completed its feasibility and detailed design.
Since the water table in Baluchistan is quite low, fetching water for
irrigation is a major challenge in itself. So, in order to cope with the
water requirements in the province, the provincial and federal governments
have sponsored the construction of many dams in Baluchistan, some of which
are operational while others are yet to be completed.
In addition to the aforementioned operational dams in Baluchistan,
provincial authorities in collaboration with the federal government have
undertaken the ‘100 Dam Baluchistan’ Initiative.
The government worked out a comprehensive program for managing the incurring
floods through small dams. The completion of these projects would help the
irrigation system besides tackling the water scarcity situation in the
province.
It is one of the water conservation efforts by the government to solve the
problem of water shortage in Baluchistan.
