LAHORE, Oct 3: The ground-breaking ceremony of the Kachhi Canal project at Taunsa Barrage will be held on Friday (today).

The project, estimated to cost Rs28 billion, is planned as a fast track part of Vision-2025, the national development programme of water and hydropower resources, according to a Wapda press release.

The first leg of the project comprises 500-kilometre-long Kachhi Canal to off take from Taunsa Barrage with a capacity of 6,000 cusecs.

After the Mirani Dam, it is the second in a series of projects being constructed in Balochistan to develop irrigation and drinking water facilities for arid and water starved regions in Dera Bugti, Naseerabad and Kachhi districts.

Providing irrigation to 713,000 acres of land, the Kachhi Canal will be fed through Taunsa for six months. This will enhance cropping intensity in the project area from the present 2 per cent to 46 per cent.