Three large dams totalling over 24Bm³ of water storage capacity have to be constructed by the year 2025 if Pakistan is to overcome drought problems which plague the country’s agriculture industry.
Speaking at a meeting on agricultural productivity at the end of July 2004, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the Pakistani chief minister, blamed water shortfalls over the past few years on 25% reductions in storage capacity at the country’s Tarbela and Mangla dams through silting. Work on all large dam projects currently at the planning stage has to begin now, Elahi told reporters.