Kashimbila multipurpose dam in February next year, the Minister of
Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe, has said.
opportunities such as potable water supply, agriculture, power,
tourism, aviation, transport as well as trade and investment in the
Kashimbila dam for the benefit of the host communities and the
country in general.
Ochekpe disclosed this when she and her counterparts in the
ministries of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo; Tourism, Culture and
National Orientation, Mr. Edem Duke; and State for Power, Mr.
Muhammed Wakil; inspected the dam in Taraba State.
The minister, in a statement from her ministry on Tuesday, said
the dam was a buffer designed to accommodate the poisonous
gas and water that may come to Nigeria in case of breakdown of
Lake Nyos in Cameroon.
She noted that, presently the dam had generated 40MW of hydro
power, 2,000 hectares of land for irrigation, tourism potentials,
aviation and transport opportunities, and would provide 60,000
cubic meters of water daily for 400,000 people.
Ochekpe reportedly said, “We are here at Kashimbila with three of
my colleagues and we are happy with the level of work we see. As
of 2010 the level of completion of this project was just 10 per cent
but now you can see that the project is executed to its final stage.
“The President has been driving this project and we are happy that
today the project is 95 per cent completed. We have already set in
motion the process that will lead to the commissioning of the
project in early February 2015.
“We want to maximise every opportunity that is available here.
Next time we will come with our colleague from agriculture
because of the irrigation component. Staple processing zone will
be set up around this neighbourhood and this will not only open up
the rural areas but will provide opportunities for further
improvement in agriculture.”
Speaking on the 40MW hydro power from the dam, Nebo said the
Federal Government had approved the contract for the erection of
transmission lines that would evacuate the generated electricity.
“The transmission infrastructure that will be put in place here will
strengthen the entire Taraba, Benue and Plateau states so that we
can have more reliable and stable electricity in these parts of the
country,” he said.
Duke, in his address, said his team had already developed a
master plan to integrate tourism into the project, adding that the
facilities on ground in the dam were enough to make the site a
tourist attraction.
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