The Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Reng Ochekpe has said that the Gurara multipurpose dam has potentials for industrial and agricultural purposes such as fisheries, hydro power electricity as well as tourism.
The Minister was speaking to journalists while inspecting the dam, irrigation and its hydro power component lately, saying the dam has a lot of potentials especially the agricultural part with 6,000 hectares of land for irrigation. She explained that the amount of food to be cultivated there would serve the immediate environment in the FCT, Kaduna State and other parts of Nigeria.
Sarah Ochekpe further disclosed that the Ministry plans to allocate some portions of the 6,000 hectares of land to civil servants to enable them take active part in farming activities. She however added that the bulk of the land would be assigned to private investors; noting that all necessary preparations have been effected for the commissioning to take place at the end of 2014.
“Today we are here on inspection visit just to be sure of the progress of work so that we can brief the Vice President who will personally assess the projects. It is a multipurpose project and we have water to be transferred to the FCT in Abuja. We have an irrigation scheme under which there are installed sprinklers, canals and reservoirs to store up water for the irrigation,” She said.
Speaking on the hydro power, the Minister revealed that 30 megawatts of electricity which has been generated from the dam was delayed for some time because of non-completion of the project. Adding, the present administration has provided money for its completion and has caused the contractors to work in earnest towards the target. She also informed that about 309 towers would be erected to enable the transmission line evacuate power from the dam site to the Kaduna Industrial Estate in Kaduna State.
“The first tower has already been installed and the contractors have assured us that before the middle of the year, most of the towers and the transmission lines would be installed. If these 30 megawatts are injected to the Kaduna Industrial Estate, you can imagine what impact the availability of that power will generate,” she said.
Ochekpe mentioned that though Kaduna State was home to numerous textile industries, the power siege has grounded most of them. She promised that with the new development, more of the power controlled textile industries would bounce back to production; indicating that many more people would be employed and more income provided for Nigerians. “It will bring about social stability and security in the country,” she pointed.
On tourism potentials, the Minister said that the Ministry of Water Resources is working with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation to exploit the tourism potentials in the area.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate