Jatoi said that just as the Nai Guj Dam has become necessary for providing irrigation water and cultivating more land in the Kachha area, it was important that Pakistan must also build new dams to store water for the irrigation and power-generation purposes.
He also underlined the commitment of President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to serve the people of Pakistan and said that both the leaders are dedicatedly working for ending poverty and providing the people a better standard of living.
Talking about the coming local bodies' elections, Jatoi urged upon the people to elect the right persons who would serve them and engage in proper implementation of development projects.
Federal Secretary Water and Power, Ashfaq Mahmood speaking on the occasion said that Engineer Macdonald submitted a report on the construction of the Nai Guj Dam in 1969. It remained in cold storage since, but Minister Liaquat Jatoi has it taken out and within eighteen months the implementation on it would start.
Wapda chairman, Tariq Hameed, giving a briefing to the minister on the occasion, said that feasibility of the Nai Guj dam would be completed within eighteen months after which the actual implementation stage would start.
Tariq Hameed also briefed the minister about the progress on other projects in the area undertaken by the Wapda including the Greater Thal Canal.
Later, Federal Minister Liaquat Ali Khan Jatoi performed the ground-breaking ceremony of the Dam, which is located on Nai Guj at the terminal ridge of the Kirthar Range, about half a mile west of Guj Inspection Bungalow in Dadu district.
MPA Manzoor Leghari, DCO Dadu, high officials of Wapda, Chief Executive Officer Hesco and others were also present on the occasion.
Nai Guj Dam project would cost around Rs 1510 million. It will be 125 feet high and 2,535 feet long. The gross water storage capacity of the dam has been estimated at 0.20MAF and its command area is 25,000 acres.