Shafaq News/ On Saturday, Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region,announced that 80% of the construction work for its largest dam project,designed to mitigate flood risks in the Daratu area and its surroundings, hasbeen completed.
According to a statement from the governor's office, Erbil Governor OmedKhoshnaw, accompanied by local officials, visited the Daratu Dam constructionsite. The project, which began with a budget of 818 million Iraqi dinars (625,000USD) allocated from the Erbil governorate's funds, is nearing its completion.
The statement noted that “Khoshnaw, after reviewing the project’sprogress and discussing remaining needs with engineers and supervisors,congratulated the project team for their efforts.” Pointing out that, “inresponse to the severe floods of 2021 that caused significant damage, the ninthKurdistan Regional Government had approved several projects, including the dam,to address and prevent future flooding issues in Daratu and Hay Zein.”
The dam, with a capacity of 350,000 cubic meters of water, is expected toenhance groundwater levels and irrigation in the region.
In addition to the dam, several other infrastructure projects have beenundertaken in the Daratu area. These include the construction of approximatelyeight kilometers of sewage systems in flood-prone neighborhoods, two additionalkilometers of sewage lines connecting old and new Daratu areas, and threekilometers of sewage systems in the Hizan neighborhood, along with other localroad and drainage improvements, according to the statement.