Afghan-India Friendship Dam Inaugurated

Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated the Afghan-India Friendship Dam (Salma Dam) with President of Afghanistan Dr. Ashraf Ghani at Chist-e-Sharif in Herat province in Western Afghanistan.

Inauguration of the Afghan India Friendship Dam is a historic moment of emotion & pride in the relations between Afghanistan and India.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 4, 2016

Afghan-India Friendship Dam is a Multipurpose project planned for generating 42 MW of power, irrigating 75000 hectares of land, water supply and other benefits to the people of Afghanistan. Salma Dam is a landmark infrastructure project undertaken by Government of India on river Hari Rud, in Herat province of Afghanistan.

This is a project that will irrigate lands & light up homes. The dam is a generator of optimism & belief in the future of Afghanistan.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 4, 2016

About the dam:

The project was executed and implemented by WAPCOS Ltd., a Government of India Undertaking under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

The project is located 165 km east of Herat town and connected with earthen road. Due to security reasons Indian engineers and technicians involved with the project have been reaching the site once in a month by helicopter service provided by Government of Afghanistan.

All equipment and material were transported from India to Bander-e-Abbas port of Iran via sea and then along 1200 km by road from there to Islam Kila border post at Iran-Afghanistan border and then further 300 km by road from the border post to the site.

Cement, steel reinforcement, explosives etc. were imported to Afghanistan from neighboring countries. The gross capacity of the Dam is 633 Million M3. The height of the Dam is 104.3 Mt, length 540 Mt and width at the bottom is 450 Mt.

Rs.1775 crore project was funded by Government of India and took more than ten years to complete. The successful completion of the project represents culmination of years of hard work by 1,500 Indian and Afghan engineers and other professionals in very difficult conditions.

PM at the inauguration:

The brave Afghan people are sending a strong message that the forces of destruction & death, denial and domination, shall not prevail.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 4, 2016

India cherishes the friendship with Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, we want to see democracy strike deep roots, people unite & economy prosper.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 4, 2016

Today, we are reviving a region, restoring hope, renewing life and redefining Afghanistan's future. https://t.co/GKy6K7JeK8

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 4, 2016

PM awarded highest Afghan civilian honour:

In Afghanistan Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the highest civilian honour.

Afghanistan's highest civilian honour conferred on PM @narendramodi earlier today. https://t.co/DIOlFfm2IB

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 4, 2016