GIBADO IRRIGATION DAM IN ETHIOPIA NEARS COMPLETION

Dam set to hold 63 million cubic metres of water and stands 21.2m tall.

The dam which started construction way back in 2010 should be completed in two month. The construction of the dam is lead by Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation (ECWC). The large dam has a capacity to hold 63 million cubic metres of water and stands 21.2m tall. The construction of the dam is at 97% completed and will start operation soon.

According to Project Manager, Abdulfetah Taju ”Its initial completion was expected within two years of construction, beginning 2010 but the completion period was modified. He said the Dam had to be redesign to fully use Gidabo river’s potential and increase the Dam’s capacity.”

The Dam which cost 1.1 billion Br will help the communities. The dam will irrigate 27,043ha of land with 605 of which lie in the former region. While the rest in the latter.

It will improving its capacity and the new design will add two channels sprawled on 1,050ha close to the Borena and Sidama zones. One of the channel is for the zones in the Oromia Regional State while the other is for another zone.

The construction had been delay due to recurrent rainfall that fills the Gidabo river. The relocation of residents and soil study had been another reason. The decision made by the client to add more land had been another reason for the delay. The client wanted more cultivated land to be increased.

For more information, go through the following article on GambetaNews.