*KABUL – India has announced to invest in Shahtoot Dam project in ChaharAsiab district in Kabul province. The dam will be built in the Kabul riverbasin, one of the five river basins in Afghanistan, TOLO News has reported.*
Vijay Keshav Gokhale, the foreign secretary of India, said in the meetingon Wednesday that India will start work on the dam in the near future.
The project will provide drinking water, and irrigation water for Kabulprovince.
The feasibility study of the project which cost $1.86 million USD wascompleted in 2012 when Mohammad Ismail Khan was the minister of energy andwater.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Water, the project will providehealthy drinking water to two million people in the capital city, Kabul.
“The design and feasibility of the dam has been completed. Previously,Afghan and Iranian companies have worked on the project. The constructionof the dam has remained. It will be used mostly for drinking water,” saidAsif Ghafoori, a spokesman for the Ministry of Energy and Water.
Analysts said the dam project is a good step towards overcoming healthywater shortages in the city.
“Underground water has reduced in Kabul and people are concerned about it.The project will overcome this problem,” Abdul Wase Haidari, an economicaffairs analyst, told TOLOnews.
The construction of the dam will cost $236 million USD, the Ministry ofEnergy and Water said.
This comes after the underground water level in Kabul dropped to about 10meters last summer. This has caused severe water shortages in certain areasof the city.
The project will provide irrigation water to at least 4,000 hectares ofland in Chahar Asiab and Khairabad districts in Kabul. It will also providedrinking water to the New City in Dehsabz.