LAHORE Senior Provincial Minister Raja Riaz Ahmed has said that the Greater Thal Canal Command Area Development Project Phase-I has started in which 725 watercourses will be built at a cost of Rs2 billion and 350,000 acres of land would be irrigated in the province.

Raja Riaz was talking to a delegation of cultivators of the area here on Friday. He said the present government had given top priority to increase the number of water channels.

He said that a feasibility of 24 new small dams was under way in the Potohar area which would cost Rs90 million.

The senior provincial minister said that construction of new dams was a dire need of the hour and work on 16 sites had started on priority at an allocation of Rs37 million.

Raja said that in the districts of Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Attock and Jhelum, a geological survey was also underway which would help construct new small dams in the area.

He said the dams would not only generate 50MW to 100MW of electricity but also provide an opportunity to extend resources for irrigation and help cultivators.—APP