An irrigation dam project worth 3.8 billion birr was launched yesterday by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The project which is named Rib is situated in South Gondar Zone of Amhara Regional State and has the capacity to hold 234 million cubic meters of water. Rib is expected to develop 20,000 hectares of land and benefit 40,000 farmers. It is also believed that it will protect Lake Tana from alluvial deposits, especially from soils formed in the river valleys.

The project which started with 1.3 billion birr in 2008 has a six year overdue irrespective of the initial plan included finalizing and delivering within four years of time.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency