The Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation on Wednesday announced plans to construct additional dams to address flooding concerns in the country.
Ali Dallah, Director of Dams and Reservoir Operations at the ministry, disclosed this during an assessment tour of the Mangu Dam in Gindri, Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Dallah, leading the Technical Sub-Committee on Dam Evaluation, attributed frequent flooding to the lack of dams and said the government plans to build more soon.
“Flooding in Nigeria is primarily due to the lack of enough dams, which are crucial for containing water and preventing downstream flooding.
“To have a reliable and sustainable solution to flooding, we need more functional dams”.
He pointed out that while countries like the United States have 92,000 functional dams and China has 98,000, Nigeria has only 408 registered dams.
Dallah added that suitable locations for new dams have already been identified, with studies showing their feasibility.
He also mentioned that the recent flooding in Maiduguri prompted the federal government to establish the committee he leads to assess the status of various dams across the country.
Dallah expressed satisfaction with the progress at the Mangu Dam and assured that the project would be completed by March 2025.
“We are evaluating the health of dams across Nigeria to prevent collapses and potential damage to communities.
“Some of our dams are aging, and part of our mandate is to identify those that need repairs.
“So far, the Mangu Dam is in good condition, and though the work is still ongoing, the quality is commendable”.
Earlier, Uka Kanno, the project consultant, stated that the dam has a capacity of 18 million cubic meters.
He noted that the water treatment plant at the dam has been completed and is operational, while the irrigation scheme is expected to be finished by March 2025.
Kanno, however, highlighted that funding challenges and rising material costs have contributed to delays in the project’s completion.
NAN