Work on construction of Pashdan Dam in Herat province has resumed after a three years of pause, the Ministry of Energy and Water said. 

The tender for this project was announced by the ministry in July. 

Located in Karokh district, 25 kilometers to the northwest of Herat City, the dam project will be completed within the next three years, said Abdullah Qazizada, an in charge of the project from the ministry.

Qazizada said two foreign and one Afghan company are in charge of the construction of the dam and that some foreign experts are in Herat to promote the project.

“The intention is that this project should be completed 100 percent in accordance international norms,” said Qazizada. 

The dam has the capacity of reserving 45 million cubic meters of water, two megawatts of power and the capacity of irrigating 13,000 hectares of land. 

The project worth $117 million, Qazizada said.  

“Because of the speed and development of the work to finish the work of this dam early, we work 15 hours in two times, which is 10 hours from the day and five hours from the night,” said Alexander Franchuk representative of an Azerbaijani company, which works on the project. 

Meanwhile, security officials in Herat said government forces have ensured the safety of the project by establishing many checkpoints in various parts around the area.

“We are doing our best. So far, we have not faced with any problems or security incident in the area,” said Mohammad Arif, Commander Pashdan Protection Unit.

The construction of the dam was stopped three years ago due to some certain reasons which so far have not been clarified by the Ministry of Energy and Water. However, officials of the ministry recently said that insecurity was one of the main reasons for a pause in the construction work of the project. 

Work on the project was in flux for four years before it was stopped in 2015. The Energy and Water Ministry’s officials said that almost 30 percent of work on the project has been completed so far.