Kajaki Dam

The Kajaki Dam is one of the two major hydroelectric power dams of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. It is located 55 miles (90 km) north-west of Kandahar City. It has a dual function, to provide electricity and serves to irrigate some 650,000 acres (1800 km²) of formerly arid land. Water discharging from the dam traverses some 300 miles (500 km) of downstream irrigation canals feeding farmland. The Kajaki Dam is on the Helmand River. The dam was built in 1953. It is 320 feet (100 m) high and 887 feet (270 m) long, with a storage capacity of 973,000 acre-feet (1.2 km³) of water. The dam is the main watershed for the Sistan Basin.

In 1975, USAID commissioned the initial installation of two 16.5 MW generating units in a powerhouse constructed at the toe of the dam. This first stage powerhouse was actually constructed to house three equally sized units.

The Kajaki dam powerhouse was a bombing target by the US Air Force during their attack on Afghanistan in October 2001. [ [http://www.cursor.org/stories/casualty_count.htm Kajakai list as October 31, 2002 aerial bombing location] ]

With help from USAID, Unit 1 has been fully rehabilitated and currently produces 16.5 MW of reliable power. cite news
url=http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/documents/countries/afghanistan/afgh_infrastructure_jul2007.pdf
title=Afghanistan: Infrastructure
publisher=US Aid
author=
date=July 2007
accessdate=2008-10-07
quote= ] The Unit 3 rehabilitation began in May 2006, with a scheduled return to service in early 2007. The new 18.5 MW Unit 2 turbine/generator has been contracted to China Machine Building International Corporation, which is headquartered in Beijing. Engineering, design and procurement are ongoing. The work will be supervised by Montgomery Watson Harza and is planned to be completed by June 2007. Central to the long term energy security and sustained economic growth of south-eastern Afghanistan is the rehabilitation and expansion of the Kajaki HPP. As a critical component of the South East Transmission System, the capacity of the Kajaki HPP will be expanded to 51 MW with a future potential for an additional 100 MW.

Under an accord signed between Iran and Afghanistan in 1972, Afghanistan is obliged to release at least 910 cubic feet (26 m³) of water a second. Taliban briefly stopped the flow of water to Iran when the latter threatened to attack in retaliation for what it claimed to be the killing of Iranian diplomats in Mazari Sharif when the Taliban retook the city from the Northern Alliance the second time. During that time Helmand valley was going through a five year drought.

As a result, Iran's famous Hamoun lake dried up as did other regional pastures, leading to the death of flora, fauna, cattle and birds in the Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. [ [http://www.payvand.com/news/02/dec/1058.html Hirmand River's water to flow into Iran again, soon: Afghan source] , December 12, 2002]

In February 2007, the Kajaki Dam was the subject of fighting between NATO and Taliban insurgents, as part of the so-called Operation Kryptonite. [ [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP287758.htm Taliban flee battle using children as shields - NATO] , February 14, 2007]

According to Helmand governor, Assadullah Wafa, over 700 Taliban insurgents (including Pakistanis, Chechens and Uzbeks) coming from neighbouring Pakistan fought against over 300 NATO troops. [ [http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n105616 US defense secretary in Pakistan] , February 12, 2007] Most of the NATO troops were Dutch and British. The number of casualties mentioned varies.

The Taliban intend to destroy the dam. [ [http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSP235102 Hundreds of Taliban massing to attack dam - official] ]

The Third Turbine

In late August 2008 a contingent of British, Afghan and ISAF troops successfully transported the third turbine from Kandahar Airbase in Kandahar Province to the Kajaki Dam. When the turbine comes online, and when a new grid of power lines are established to distribute the power, it is expected that the dam will be able to provide 51 megawatts of power. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7593901.stm UK Troops in Huge Turbine Mission] ] . The operation was British led and codenamed Op BAAZ TSUKA, meaning "Eagle's Summit" in Pashtu. [ [http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/BritishTroopsCompleteOperationToDeliverVitalPowerTurbine.htm British Troops Complete Operation to Deliver Turbine] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.afghanenergyinformationcenter.org/pdf/Project%20Information%20Sheets/Kajaki%20Hydro%20Power%20Plant%20Project.pdf Afghan Energey Information Center]

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7593901.stm UK troops in huge turbine mission ]