Shafaq News / MP in the Iraqi parliament denied on Saturday the opposition of the governorate’s MPs or its local government to the construction of the strategic Makhoul Dam, which is intended to be built between Kirkuk and Saladin governorates.

Local websites had reported that some of Saladin's MP rejected "Makhoul" Dam project and supported the completion of "Badoush" Dam project in Nineveh as a substitute for it to avoid damaging several administrative units in Saladin.

The Technical Deputy Governor of Saladin, Ammar Hikmat al-Baldawi, told Shafaq News agency, "We have not, and will not, stand against the strategic Makhoul Dam project, which addresses water scarcity in most governorates and provides water storage that revives the agricultural and living conditions of millions of citizens".

He continued, "Makhoul Dam is a sovereign project and is comparable to the Mosul Dam in terms of water storage and its implementation is a reality that cannot be stopped by any party. However, we demand compensations for the administrative units affected by the dam".

Al-Baldawi asked, "What are our gains from the dam? What are the damages that we will incur? We must come out with the least damage and the largest gains from the dam project, the most prominent of which is the development of irrigation projects in Saladin and the expansion of the agricultural area in the governorate".

"Saladin will not distance itself from Iraq and its strategic projects. We will not be an obstacle to the supreme and national interests of the country", he added.

The Makhoul Dam file, to be established between Kirkuk and Saladin, will generate wide social and living implications, as the displacement of residents requires about three administrative units in Kirkuk and Saladin, amid fears of losing sources of livelihood in those units that subsist on agriculture and animal husbandry as the only basic sources of livelihood.

The site of the dam and the boundaries of its construction extends from Al-Zawiya district, north of Baiji district, to Al-Shirqat district, and large parts of Al-Abbasi and Al-Zab sub-districts of Hawija district southwest of Kirkuk.

 The length of the dam is 3227 to 3600 meters and has a storage capacity of 3 billion cubic meters.