Arjo-Dedesa dam to irrigate 80,000 hectares of land upon completion: MoIL

Addis Ababa, September 29, 2022 (FBC) – Upon its completion, the Arjo-Dedesa dam water reservoir is expected to irrigate more than 80,000 hectares of farm land, said Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands-Ethiopia.

The dam covers an area of 12,000 hectares, stretches back 42 kilometers, 50 meters high, 537 meters front length, and its reservoir is expected to hold 2.5 billion cubic meters of water.

Arjo-Dedesa Dam and related works construction project is under construction, since 2022, which is expected to be completed 94.81% in 2022/23 fiscal year.

Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands confirmed the plan to complete 94.81% of the Dam and 100.00% of infrastructure construction by the end of the 2022/23 fiscal year.

The total construction cost of the Arjo-Dedesa Dam and related infrastructure project is 4.6 billion birr.

Arjo-Dedesa dam construction project has created a total of 430 employment opportunities to the local community members.

In addition to the job opportunities, the dam’s project construction has helped various local community members develop occupational skills in carpentry, operatorship and grouting.

Furthermore, the Oromia Construction Corporation and Oromia Engineering Corporation, which are participating in the construction and consulting work, have developed a great deal of experience in building large dams.

Due to lack of fuel and machinery needed for the construction, the project is being delayed repeatedly, but efforts are being made to rectify these constraints, as per the Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands.