India-Funded Dam Project Promises Clean Water For Kabul Residents

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands on February 9 after signing an agreement to build the Shah Toot on the Kabul River.

KABUL – Afghanistan and India have signed an agreement to build a $236 million dam that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says will provide residents of the capital, Kabul, with clean water.

The document was signed during an online summit between Ghani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 9.

India is to cover the cost to build the Shah Toot dam on the Kabul River, south of the Afghan capital.

According to Afghanistan’s authorities, the project is expected to take several years to build and supply around 2.2 million people with clean water.

It will also be able to irrigate thousands of hectares of an agricultural land.

Shah Toot would be the second dam in Afghanistan to be funded by India after the Salma dam in the western province of Herat.