The National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) has achieved a breakthrough by securing a dam project in Afghanistan and become the first Pakistani firm, which will design the dam on the River Farah in Bakhshabad, according to a company spokesman on Wednesday.
The contract agreement of the project was signed by the representatives of the ministry of water and energy, government of Afghanistan and Nespak, the spokesman said.
The $500 million Bakhshabad (Farah Rud) dam project consists of a dam, a powerhouse, appurtenant structures, a barrage 60km downstream of the dam, left and right main irrigation canals and irrigation command area.
Nespak will provide services for detailed design, tender drawings and preparation of the bidding documents.
The ministry of water and energy, Afghanistan has termed the project the first of its kind by a Pakistani company. The dam will be financed by the Afghan government funds. Once completed, the project is expected to meet all the irrigation and energy needs of the Farah province, the spokesman said.
“The dam’s storage capacity will be more than one billion cubic metres. At the same time, it can irrigate more than 68,000 acres of agricultural land and produce around 27MW, which can meet the electricity needs of the province,” Muhammad Ismail Khan, minister of energy and water, Afghanistan, said.