Gomal Zam Dam 4.02

Gomal Zam Dam is a multi-purpose gravity dam in South Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan. The dam impounds the Gomal River, a tributary of the Indus River, at Khjori Kach, where the Gomal River passes through a narrow ravine. The purpose of the dam is irrigation, flood control and hydroelectric power generation. Construction of the dam began in August 2001 and was completed in April 2011. The powerhouse was completed in March 2013 and electricity production started in August 2013. The dam was officially inaugurated on 12 September 2013 by Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, along with the US Ambassador Richard G. Olson and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shaukatullah Khan.FeaturesGomal Dam is a roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam with a height of 437 feet (133 m). It has a gross storage capacity of 1140000acre.ft and the 60.5 km long main canal will irrigate about 163000acre barren land of Tank district and Tehsil Kulachi of Dera Ismail Khan. It produces 17.4 MW of electricity.BackgroundThe dam site at Khjori was first envisaged by four British officers of the Royal Corps of Engineers in 1898 and surveys were carried out. The Government of Pakistan approved the construction of the dam in August 1963 and preparatory work was commenced. However, it was stopped due to the outbreak of the 1965 Indo-Pak War and by subsequent budgetary constraints. However, in 2001, the local Provincial Minister Aminullah Gandapur brought the delay in the construction of the dam to the notice of the then President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, who ordered its construction. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on 14 August 2001.