The Shah wa Arus Dam is a 75m high concrete gravity dam located in the Shakardara District of Kabul Province in Afghanistan.[1] It has a 60m wide three-bay spillway and is mainly geared towards provision of irrigation water as well as flood control and reliable year-round fresh water supply. Once operational, the dam will produce 1.2 megawatts (MW) of power and irrigate 2,700 hectares of land in addition to supplying drinking water for the millions of residents of Kabul.

Shah wa Arus Dam
Location of Shah wa Arus Dam in Afghanistan
Location	Shakardara District, Kabul Province, Afghanistan
Coordinates	34.688028°N 69.019386°E / 34.688028; 69.019386
Construction began	2012
Opening date	2021
Construction cost	$50 million[1]
Owner(s)	Afghanistan
Operator(s)	National Water Affairs Regulation Authority
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	gravity
Impounds	Shakardara River
Height	75 m (246 ft)
Width (base)	60 m (197 ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity	180,000 m3 (146 acre⋅ft)
Power Station
Commission date	2016
Turbines	2 x 600 KW
Installed capacity	1.2MW[1]

Construction of Shah wa Arus Dam has long been proposed by the Afghan government. The bidding process deadline of the Dam was on 24 March 2014, in which an Iranian company known as Tablieh and Parhoon Tarh JV was chosen as the main contractor for the project.[2] Its work was to build the Shah-wa-Arus irrigation and hydropower project, which included a rock-filled dam, intake, powerhouse, pickup weir with balancing reservoir and head regulators, and right and left side main canals. The Design-Build contract was awarded to Alborz Sazeh Company.

President Ashraf Ghani visited the construction site on 19 June 2015.[3] The total cost of the Dam came to around $50 million, with 81 meters height at the rocky base and about 330,000 cubic meters of concrete, would be the first Roller-compacted concrete (R.C.C) that will be implemented within 55 months.[4][5] The overall project created jobs for 500 Afghans during its completion process.[6]

The Shah-wa-Arus Multipurpose Dam Project has the following major components:

• Roads, Bridges & other Infrastructure
• Concrete Dam with Power Intake Structure
• Power House
• Pick up weir with Balancing Reservoir and Head Regulators[7]

See also

• List of dams and reservoirs in Afghanistan

References