Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), with the financial support of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has completed the main dam of Gomal Zam Project in South Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA). In yet another significant move, the filling of the reservoir has also begun.
This achievement has been made despite financial constraints and adverse working conditions due to the peculiar security situation in the area. Gomal Zam Dam is one of the projects WAPDA is executing on a priority basis to uplift remote and backward areas by providing water for agriculture and generating low cost hydroelectricity. USAID is providing $40 million to help complete remaining works of the project at a crucial juncture when the paucity of funds might have halted the construction activities on the project.
Gomal Zam Dam, the first ever large scale water project in FATA, aims at ensuring availability of water for agriculture, controlling floods and providing cheap hydroelectricity. The project will store 1.14 million acre feet of water to irrigate 163,000 acres of land. Benefits of the project on account of flood mitigation have been estimated at $2.6 million annually. In addition, the project with a generation capacity of 17.4 megawatt, will also contribute 91 million units of electricity annually to the National Grid.
The quantum of electricity is sufficient to supply electricity for about 25,000 households in the area.
