Work on 111 dam projects under federal, provincial govts under way

ISLAMABAD: The work on 111 dam projects is going on during the current fiscal year under the federal and provincial governments. The total cost of the projects is Rs1,140 billion. These dams will provide total water storage capacity of 8.777 million-acre feet in the country and will bring 5.5 million acres of new land under cultivation.

According to a document from the Ministry of Water Resources, the federal government is constructing 32 dams during the current fiscal year, while provincial governments are constructing 79. These dam projects of the federal government are in various stages.

The estimated cost of these projects is Rs1,056.985 billion. Upon completion, these projects will provide capacity to store approximately 8.429 million-acre feet of water and 436,932 acres of new land will be irrigated.

Provincial governments are constructing 79 dam projects at a cost of Rs83.4 billion. The completion of these projects will create capacity to store approximately 350,000 acre-feet of water and bring 109,966 acres of new land under cultivation.

The details further stated that with the financial support of the federal government, 47 dam projects have been completed across the country since 2018 and 80 dam projects have been completed by provincial governments under their annual development programs, resulting in an increase in water storage capacity of 307,940 acre-feet.