[KhaamaPress] The Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) said the Shah wa Arus Dam construction will be accelerated, according to source, months after concerns over alleged cracks brought about official attention.In late August, officials of the Islamic Emirate and technical team visited the dam for close evaluation to address the so-called cracks on the dam that yet has to be inaugurated.
According to the ministry’s spokeswoman, discussions between ministry representatives and Iranian diplomats have been held in an attempt to resolve the Shah wa Arus Dam’s issues and accelerate construction.
"Yesterday, deputy minister of Water and Energy, Mujib Rahman Omar met with Iranian Ambassador and Counselor Hassan Shirazi, and discussed with him the remaining work on the Shah wa Arous dam and solving the problems of the dam," said Akhtar Mohammad Nusrat, front man of the ministry, as TOLOnews quoted.
An Austrian company will create mechanical and electrical equipment, and "whenever this company makes this equipment, it will be transferred to Afghanistan and put in the Shah wa Arous project."
"With this equipment, the project will be completed and put into use," said Aminullah Ehsas, the project manager of the Shah wa Arus Dam.
Meanwhile,
...back at the alley, Slats grabbed for his rosco...
Hamidullah Yalani, a former head of Afghanistan water supply agency, highlighted the importance of such dams in Afghanistan, saying it would help in agriculture and overall needs of people.
"The Shah wa Arous Dam or any other dam that is created in Afghanistan will first have a lot of positive effects on the people’s morale and will continue to strengthen agricultural and water management," he said.
ABOUT SHAH-WA-ARUS DAM
Shah wa Arus Dam is a 75m high concrete gravity dam located in the Shakardara District of Kabul Province in Afghanistan. It has a 60m wide three-bay spillway and is mainly geared towards provision of irrigation water as well as flood control and reliable year-round fresh water supply.
Construction of Shah wa Arus Dam has long been proposed by the Afghan government. The bidding process deadline of the Dam was on 24 March 2014, in which an Iranian company known as Tablieh and Parhoon Tarh JV was chosen as the main contractor for the project.
Its work was to build the Shah-wa-Arus irrigation and hydropower project, which included a rock-filled dam, intake, powerhouse, pickup weir with balancing reservoir and head regulators, and right and left side main canals. The Design-Build contract was awarded to Alborz Sazeh Company.
Total cost of the Dam came to around $50 million, with 81 meters height at the rocky base and about 330,000 cubic meters of concrete, would be the first Roller-compacted concrete (R.C.C) that will be implemented within 55 months.
Once operational, the dam will produce 1.2 megawatts (MW) of power and irrigate 2,700 hectares of land in addition to supplying drinking water for the millions of residents of Kabul.
Project has the following major components: Roads, Bridges & other Infrastructure; Concrete Dam with Power Intake Structure; Power House; Pick up weir with Balancing Reservoir and Head Regulators.