After many years of waiting, the construction of the first phase of the Bakhshabad Dam in Farah province started on Saturday.

Addressing a ceremony on the inauguration of work on the dam, the economic deputy prime minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, assured that the current government will complete the construction of the dam in the near future.

“We should have attempted to urgently complete the work of the dam this year. The water that has been wasted should have been reserved this year,” Baradar noted.

Baradar said that although the US has been expelled from the country, some people are working for the benefit of this country in Afghanistan. He did not provide more details about this.

“Although America has left Afghanistan, there are still some people who work, serve and operate for them,” Baradar added.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Water, construction of the dam will cost $430 million and the current government needs the people's support to provide the budget for it.

“Now that we have opened a bank account for you, you may pay your money. The company will do its work, and God willing, you and we will build this dam in a year,” said Abdul Latif Mansour, Acting Minister of Energy and Water.

“We shouldn't be satisfied with this. The dam has five, six, and seven sections. Now is the work on its tunnels, plates, road asphalting, and canals,” said Hayatullah Muhajir Farahi, deputy minister of information and culture for publications.

A domestic construction company will complete the Bakhshabad Dam project with the technical assistance of Turkish and German firms.

"There are several phases. The first phase is the tunnels. Work on the two tunnels is practically ongoing in a standard way, and the tunnels will be completed in about 10 months,” said Mirza Mohammad Katwazi, head of the contractor company.

The Bakhshabad Dam is being constructed over the Farah River in the Bala Buluk district in Farah.

According to officials, the dam will be able to reserve 1,360 million cubic meters of water and generate 27 megawatts of power.

It is expected that the dam will be used to irrigate nearly 100,000 hectares of agricultural land.