Afghan-India Friendship Dam

Afghan-India Friendship Dam
Location of Afghan-India Friendship Dam in Afghanistan
Country	Afghanistan
Location	Chishti Sharif District, Herat Province
Coordinates	34°19′51″N 63°49′31″E / 34.33083°N 63.82528°E / 34.33083; 63.82528
Purpose	Multi-purpose (irrigation and power)
Status	Completed
Construction began	1976
Opening date	4 June 2016
Construction cost	US$ 290 million
Operator(s)	WAPCOS
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment, earth and rock-fill
Impounds	Hari River
Height	107.5 m (353 ft)
Length	551 m (1,808 ft)
Reservoir
Active capacity	560×10^6 m3 (453,999 acre⋅ft)
Inactive capacity	633×10^6 m3 (513,181 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area	11,700 km2 (4,500 sq mi)
Turbines	3 × 14 MW
Installed capacity	42 MW
Annual generation	86.6 GWh

Afghan-India Friendship Dam (AIFD), formerly Salma Dam, is a hydroelectric and irrigation dam project located on the Hari River in Chishti Sharif District of Herat Province in western Afghanistan. The Afghan cabinet had renamed the Salma Dam to the Afghan-India Friendship Dam to express gratitude to India, which funded and helped with completing the partially constructed project.^[1][2]

The hydroelectric plant produces 42 megawatts (56,000 hp) of power in addition to providing irrigation for 75,000 hectares (190,000 acres) of farmland (stabilising the existing irrigation of 35,000 hectares (86,000 acres) and development of irrigation facilities to an additional 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres) of land).^[3]

The dam was opened on 4 June 2016 by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.