Sarda Dam

Sarda Dam
د سردا بند
The Sarda Dam and its reservoir as seen from space
Sarda Dam is located in Afghanistan
Sarda Dam
Location of Sarda Dam
د سردا بند in Afghanistan
LocationAndar District, Ghazni, Afghanistan
Coordinates33°17′39″N 68°38′1″E / 33.29417°N 68.63361°E / 33.29417; 68.63361
Opening date1967
Owner(s)Government of Afghanistan
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsGardez River
Reservoir
Total capacity259,000,000 m3 (209,975 acre⋅ft)
Power Station
Turbinesnone

The Sarda Dam (Pashto: د سردا بند) is located near the town of Sardeh Band, in the eastern part of Andar District of Ghazni Province of Afghanistan. Part of its reservoir, which provides fresh water to much of southern Ghazni, is in neighboring Paktika Province. In recent years, the locals proposed to turn the area into a national park, similar to the Band-e Amir National Park in Bamyan Province.[1]

The Sarda Dam was constructed in 1967 (1346 in the Islamic calendar) by engineers from the then-Soviet Union, during the reign of Mohammad Zahir Shah. It provided irrigation water to more than 67,000 jeribs of land after completion. Currently only 2,000 jeribs of land is under cultivation. Maximum capacity of the reservoir is 260 million cubic meters of water,[1] and the reservoir holds about 164 million gallons at present.

The dam system contains an earth dam, intake, spillway, one main canal (which is divides into two branches (the 21.5-kilometer Right Canal with 6 sub-canals and the 30-kilometres Left Canal with 16 sub-canals) and administration buildings.[2]

The reservoir of Sarda Dam is fed by the Jilga River which flows north–south from Paktia and Paktika provinces. The river is also labeled as the Gardez River north of the dam and the Sarda River south of the dam (by the National Atlas of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, page 13-14).[2]

  1. ^ a b "Ghazni, Paktia residents want Sarda Dam promoted to national Park". Pajhwok Afghan News. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  2. ^ a b "U.S. Agency for International Development" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2012-12-04.