Winder dam added to development going on under CPEC

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 19 (Gwadar Pro) - Winder dam with the capacity of irrigating 10,000 acres of land will be addedto the overall development going on in Balochistan under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said Provincial Minister Abdul Khaliq Hazara.

He said the present government has focused on construction of these dams to meet the needs of irrigation and drinking water in the province. Hazara thanked China for laying strong foundation in Balochistan and development particularly through Gwadar.

Such CPEC-related projects undertaken on the government level are bringing revolution in the province. The construction of this dam will contribute tovarious CPEC-related agriculture and welfare projects.

As CPEC is mainly meant to improve the living condition of the locals, therefore this dam will be a major breakthrough to this effect. The project will bring general uplift of the people in the area by creation of employment and business opportunities.

Earlier Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani laid the foundation stone of the Winder Dam. The dam would be completed in four years at a cost of Rs. 15,230.76 million.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that his government was utilizing all available resources for the economic and social development of Balochistan.

Alyani said the dam would significantly increase the socio-economic development of the region as the government was taking steps under a comprehensive strategy to promote the agriculture sector to enhance production.

Previously several meetings were being held under the supervision of Chief Minister Balochistan reviewing progress made on the schemes included in the Annual Development Program 2021-22 of the health engineering and irrigation departments.

Winder Dam is a proposed small, low-head, earth core rockfill, hydroelectric power generation dam of 0.3megawatt generation capacity, located across Winder River about 100 km from Karachi in Lasbela District of Baluchistan province.

With the construction of the proposed Winder Dam, flood waters of Winder River will be stored. Live storage of the reservoir is 36,167acre feet of which will be annually available for developing irrigated agriculture.

The total command area will be 20,000 acres with a high efficiency irrigation system. This project will produce 300 KW of power generation.

Damming the flow of Winder River will save the flood water for irrigated agriculture development, power generation and water supply for drinking and other domestic uses.