In Afghanistan, the construction of the dam and canals in Kush Tepa is close to completion

In the province of Jowzjan in the north of Afghanistan, the construction of the Kush-Tepa land reclamation complex is nearing completion. This is reported by the official resource of the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" Alemarah.

The construction was inspected by the representative of the state order Ahmad Jan Bilal and the contractor Abdul Rahman Attash. They inspected the canal and the dam, which will allow taking water from the Amu Darya. According to Bilal, this is one of the most important strategic projects of Afghanistan on water resources management and modernization of agriculture. He praised the management of the National Development Company and noted that the progress made in this area has exceeded expectations.

The attache assured the public that Afghan engineers will quickly complete the project in accordance with all required standards. The excavation works for the second phase have been completed by 85%, the construction of the dam by 74%, the construction of seven bridges along the canal is also progressing rapidly.

According to the project, the length of the canal will be 285 km, width — 100 m. It is expected that Kush-Tepa will allow irrigating the lands of three provinces, wheat and corn will be grown in arid regions. As a result, the severity of the food problem in Afghanistan will decrease, and a quarter of a million people will get a job.

As EADaily reported, in mid-October 2024, the first section of the 108 km long canal was put into operation. 6.5 thousand people are engaged in the construction of the facility, the work is carried out in three shifts. The final completion of the work is scheduled for 2028. The construction cost is estimated at $ 600 million.

According to Izvestia experts, the project will aggravate the water problems of Central Asia. 10 cubic km of water per year will be diverted through the canal, which is from a quarter to a third of the annual flow of the Amu Darya. Downstream Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which are already constantly struggling with droughts, may be seriously affected after the canal is put into operation.