Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia today inaugurated Gidabo irrigation dam that can irrigate over 13,400 hectares of land in Oromia and Southern regions of the country. Built between Oromia and Southern region of Ethiopia West Guji zone in Sidama Zone in Southern area with 28.68 meters height, Gidabo irrigation dam can create 1,200 hectares artificial lake. The Gidabo water used to create swamp area of 6,000 hectares before the irrigation dam was built, according to Engineer Abdulfeta Taju, Gidabo project head, who also indicated that the dam can also serve for fishery. Launched nine years ago, Gidabo irrigation dam has cost the country over 1.14 billion birr (around $41 million) mainly because of design revision, which increased the irrigation capacity from 7,000 hectares to 13,000 hectares. It is recalled that with fully local finance a few months ago Ethiopia inaugurates Rib Irrigation Dam, which has 800 meters of length and 99.5 meters of height.

Source: Ethiopian News February 03, 2019 11:03 UTC