Kessem Irrigation Dam, which is part of the Kessem Sugar Development Project, is said to be 99 percent completed. This is according to the consultant of the construction project, Federal Water Works Design and Supervision Enterprise.

The dam is being built in the Afar State and has the capacity of developing 20,000 Hectares and located in the Awash Fentalle Woreda. The reservoir of the dam is going to have the capacity of holding 500,000 Cubic Meters of water which is going to be diverted from the Kessem River, or Bulga as it is also known as.

Kessem is 720 Meters wide and 90 Meters deep and aimed to cultivate 20,000 hectares of sugarcane plantation. In addition to this the project owners are of the opinion the reservoir could also be used for providing clean water for the community and fishery.

The fact that the site is in the rift valley region made the construction of the dam difficult for the contractor; Federal Water Works Construction Enterprise. Commenting on this resident engineer of the consultant said, “Ethiopian experts have gained some practical and invaluable lessons from the project”. He added the total cost of the dam was 2.6 Billion Birr.

Being constructed as a part of the Kessem Sugar Development Project, the cultivated sugarcane is expected to feed the factories crushing plant. The factory, on the other hand, is expected to have a capacity of crushing 6,000 Tons of cane in a single day. This is on the first phase of the project. Yet when the plant is upgraded, its capacity will hick to 10,000 Tons per day.

With regard to the sugar production capacity of the factory, it will be able to produce 260,000 Tons of sugar. It will also be able to produce 30,000 Meter Cube of ethanol and 25 Megawatt of electricity out of which it will contribute 15 Megawatt to the national grid.

Source: Walta Information Center