Hama-sana
With the exit of a number of dams and pumping stations out of service in the Al-Ghab area in the Hama countryside, which is rich in agricultural production due to terrorism over the past years, the concerned authorities in the irrigation and water resources sector are working to rely on other alternatives, foremost among which is the rehabilitation of irrigation channels C1 and C2 to improve the efficiency of the irrigation water network and expand the area of irrigated lands. To the maximum extent possible, this will positively affect the yields of agricultural production in the region.
SANA visited the project implementation site and monitored the ratios and stages of its completion, as Eng. Ahed Wassouf, head of the supervisory body responsible for rehabilitating the irrigation channels C1 and C2, explained that the project consists of removing old cladding, sand and gravel brushes, re-casting slabs and forming joints, in addition to metal works that include installing organizations or gates on The length of the span of these two channels.
Eng. Bassam Hammoud, head of the Water Resources Directorate Center in Al-Ghab, explained that the project of rehabilitating the two canals includes 4 kilometers in its first phase, and upon completion of its work, the second phase is scheduled to begin, explaining that the channel C1 irrigates an area of 3,500 hectares, while the areas of agricultural land irrigated by Canal C2 reach 3564 and the source The water source is the Rastan Dam, passing through the Mahrada and Asharna dams through the irrigation network and channels.
On his part, Director of Irrigation at the Public Authority for the Development of the Forest, Eng. Hassan Mahfoud, described the project of rehabilitating the two canals with vital, which comes as a strategic alternative to the Apamea and Qastoun dams and the pumping canals that were out of service due to sabotage by terrorists and the absence of any maintenance of them, indicating that the total length of the G1 canal is 54 kilometers It irrigates an area of 9,300 hectares, the Canal C2 is 49 kilometers long, and irrigates 19800 hectares. The rehabilitation work will result in reducing water losses and sending a maximum flow to it, which increases the irrigated area and productive yield in the forest, especially in the first agricultural area.
Engineer Elian Al-Halabi, Director of the Water Projects Branch in the Central Region, stated that due to the extension of the irrigation canals by tens of kilometers, the work has been divided into several fronts to ensure the highest rate of achievement and bypass weather conditions and rainfalls, with an initial focus on pouring the floors of the two channels in order to ensure a smooth flow of water within them. To start the works of the walls of the two channels at a later stage, indicating that the total contract value for this project amounts to 490 million Syrian pounds, and it is planned to finish its work before the irrigation season arrives next summer.
Abdullah Sheikh