April 20, 2018

The Federal Ministry of Water Resources says the delay in the connection of power transmission lines to the national grid was responsible for non-completion of the Kashimbilla Multipurpose Dam in Taraba.

Mr Lawal Muhammad, the Acting Director, Dams and Reservoir Operations, in the ministry, said this on Friday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

Muhammad said that the dam and the power generating components of the project had been completed.

He said that the outstanding aspect of the project was the erection of power transmission lines that would convey electricity to the national grid, adding, however, that this was the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.

He said that work on water supply component of the dam had gone far, while work on the reticulation network had reached an advanced stage.

Muhammad said that the irrigation component of the dam had been designed, while work on it had also reached an advanced stage.

“We are studying the design; after the approval of the design for the contractor, we can then give him the go-ahead to start the construction,” he said.

The acting director said that the dam had been completed, while its water had been impounded.

He said that the dam project was also executed to control water surge whenever water was released from Lake Nyos in Cameroon.

He said that the water, which was recently released from the lake, was intercepted by the dam in order to prevent flooding in the downstream parts of River Benue.

“So now, instead of allowing the body of water to stay idle there, we can now utilise it to provide potable water for the people in Takum village and other areas of Taraba State,’’ he said.

Muhammad said that when the dam was completed, it would have the capacity of generating 40 megawatts of hydro-power.

He added that the power generation would be a plus to electricity supply to the citizens.

NAN recalls that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently approved an additional N46.15 billion for the completion of the remaining 10 per cent of the Kashimbila Dam project.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, described the project as one of the ministry’s flagship projects, adding that it would be completed and put to use in 12 months.

“The dam was identified by the United Nations (UN) as one of the key projects that we need to do to provide a buffer against flooding along the River Benue, which of course you remember in 2012 was quite devastating.

“Certainly, flood around the River Benue has always been a recurring decimal, in view of the dams which have been constructed by Cameroon. Whenever water is released unsystematically, it continues to cause a lot of damage.’’

Adamu stressed that the Federal Government was more committed to completing all ongoing dam projects across the country, rather than embarking on the construction of new ones.

He said that the Federal Government was also not in a hurry to take up new water projects, adding that the construction of new dams invariably involved a lot of planning and design.