Kamal Khan Dam was inaugurated by President Ghani

Kamal Khan Dam in Nimroz province was officially put into operation by President Ghani on Wednesday.

Mr. Ghani said at the opening ceremony, one Canal of Kamal Khan Dam will be completed this year and we have decided to complete all the Canals of this dam as soon as possible. He added, we must manage Afghanistan's waters seriously and this management is not based on the construction of dams, but it is on the basis of water areas. The President restated, today key of Helmand river is in the hands of Afghans and we will not give water to anyone without an agreement.

Mr Ghani emphasized, the key of economic prosperity in Zarang is the port of Chabahar and the Khaf-Herat railway, because it is much closer to the port of Karachi, Pakistan.

At the same time he also said; Pakistan is in public economic competition and should reduce their prices so that Afghanistan could return to the Karachi port.

"We are discussing with two foreign companies to use wind and solar energy," he said.

According to Mr. Ghani, preliminary researches shows, Afghanistan has the capacity to generate more than 70,000 megawatts wind power. He pointed out that in the field of wind and solar energy production, we are ready for any kind of partnership with the Islamic Republic of Iran so that both countries can benefit from its benefits.

Kamal Khan Dam has a storage and capacity of 52 million cubic meters of water and can also produce nine megawatts of electricity. This dam will cover 174 thousand hectares of land under irrigation and with its opening, thousands of people will be employed. Kamal Khan Dam is located 18 km south of Zaranj city in Nimroz province, along the Helmand River, which originates from the mountains of Afghanistan and descends to Hamoon slew; which is a joint slew flows between Afghanistan and Iran.

Kamal Khan Dam construction began in 1345, but remained incomplete due to wars and political upheavals in Afghanistan for years. Its main work started again in 1390 and was supposed to be completed in three stages, that the construction of the second stage began in the spring of 1396. The construction budget was $ 78 million, and the third phase was inaugurated in April 2017 by President Ghani.

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