Shafaq News– Nineveh

Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources appointed Orkhan Qaddo Haidar as director of the Mosul Dam project, which is considered one of the country’s most important water facilities, replacing former director Hatem Tayeb Fathi.

Informed sources told Shafaq News on Thursday that the appointment falls within administrative measures adopted by the ministry to regulate the management of strategic projects and strengthen leadership stability.

The Mosul Dam, built in 1950, is among the largest dams constructed in Iraq and ranks fourth among the largest dams in the Middle East. The dam provides water and electricity to more than one million Iraqis.

Last November, Riyad Izz al-Din al-Nuaimi, a specialist in water advocacy, warned that the dam is nearing "dead storage" levels for the first time in over 50 years. Driven by climate change, sparse rainfall, and a sharp decline in inflows from upstream countries like Turkiye.

Read more: Mosul Dam's threat extends beyond lives to Iraq's cultural heritage