Construction of the US $37m Gidabo Irrigation Dam in Ethiopia is almost complete and will begin operations in the next few months. It is set to irrigate 27,043ha of land once complete. The mega dam has a capacity to hold 63 million cubic metres of water and stands 21.2m tall
The completion period
“Its initial completion was expected within two years of construction, beginning 2010 but the completion period was modified after the need to redesign the Dam to fully utilize Gidabo river’s potential as well as increase the Dam’s capacity,” according to Abdulfetah Taju, project manager of the Dam.
Construction is being undertaken by the Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation (ECWC) formed as a result of the merger between Ethiopian Road Construction Corporation, Ethiopian Water Works Construction Enterprise and Ethiopian Prefabricated Building Parts Production Enterprise.
Apart from improving its capacity, the new design saw the addition of two channels sprawled on 1,050ha close to the Borena and Sidama zones. One of the water channels transports water from the Dam to the zones in the Oromia Regional State, while the other to the Southern Nations, Nationalities & People’s Regional State (SNNPR).
Once complete, the dam will become the ninth to have been completed by the Corporation.
Kesem Dam & Irrigation, Gidabo Dam, Megech Dam and Tendaho Clean Water Supply project are major projects executed by the Corporation in the country.
