Feasibility Study and EIA/SIA Study of Lower Kokcha Irrigation and Hydropower Project-Geotechnical Investigations

The Lower Kokcha Irrigation Hydropower Project (LKIHP) is a part of Emergency Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (EIRP) funded by the World Bank. A high dam of 543m height is planned to be constructed across the KokchaRiver, a major tributary of Amu Darya (international river flowing between Afghanistan, Tajkistan, Uzbekistan and Turmenistan). The Dam is proposed at WalwalichVillage in Rutaq District. The project site is located inKunduz and TakharProvinces of North-Eastern part of Afghanistan.
The Study assessed the viability of providing irrigation facilities in the Project Area in a gross command area of 141830 ha land and net command area of 132880 ha for increased agricultural productivity to meet the present food requirement of the people in the project area, accelerating the overall economy of Afghanistan. Similarly, the Project also includes developing hydropower plants within the system exploiting the available water and the head in the system. A total of 90 MW of power is planned to be generated from three nos.
of power stations.
The Services:
The scope of the work of the Consultant provided to the project included following tasks:
- Detailed study of geological condition and supervise Geotechnical Investigations of two alternative sites for Dam location, namely Dam Option 1, and Dam Option 2.
- Preparation of the geologic maps of these two dam locations
- Detail study of the terrace deposit material
- Carried out detail geological investigation of the reservoir for the Dam Option 2
- Evaluation of the quality of rock for the design purpose
- Identification and geological survey of construction material
- Preparation of soil profile of the command area (166,000 ha)
- Evaluation of seismic coefficient for the design of the hydraulic structures
- Provided training for the counterpart Geologists from MEW, Government of Afghanistan as a part of the capability building of the Client’s staff.

Staff involved and functions performed:

Design Phase
S.K. Karmacharya - Engineering Geologist / Geo-technical Engineer.

Name of Client: Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) Government of Afghanistan Fichtner GmbH& Co. KG, Germany.