PM Abiy Inaugurates Gidabo Irrigation Dam Project

Addis Ababa February 03/2019 Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially inaugurated the 1.26 billion birr Gidabo Irrigational Dam Project today.

Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Dr.Sileshi Bekele, Presidents of Oromia, Lemma Megerssa and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ (SNNP), Million Mathewos including other federal and regional senior official have presided over the inauguration of the dam.

Gidabo Irrigation Dam Project, located in between the Oromia and SNNP Regional States of Guji and Sidama zones respectively, has the capacity to contain 62.5 million cubic meters of water.

The dam said to have 25.8 meters of height and 335 meters length is expected to develop over 13, 425 hectare of land and make 10, 000 farmers’ beneficiaries and creating job opportunity for over 192,000 youth.

The dam project, which was started in 2010 with an initial outlay of 258 million of birr on Giddabo River, has a six year overdue because of various changes in the designs of the project.

During the inaugural ceremony, Premier Abiy said the dam project will enhance the social and economic interaction of the peoples of Oromia and SNNP.

Moreover, the dam promotes tourism, fishery and helps to conserve natural environment of the regions including agro-ecology, he stated.

He stressed that his government will continue its efforts to create peaceful and prosperous Ethiopia through constructing similar projects across the country.

In October, 2018 Ethiopia has made operational the 3.8 billion Rib irrigational dam project, it was learned.