The Indian state of Gujarat will soon build the world’s largest freshwater reservoir in a sea. The area has been experiencing drought that has affected many of the reservoirs in the area.
The building of the Kalpasar project is expected to begin in early 2014. The technical and economic feasibility study for the ten cubic kilomater reservoir is in its final stages and will be delivered to the state assembly in December 2013. The water will be used mostly for irrigation, but also for drinking water for Gujarat.
The massive project entails building an eighteen mile dam across the Gulf of Khambat. A ten-lane road will run across the top of it, reducing the distance between Bhavnagar at one end of the dam and South Gujarat by ninety miles. A tidal power generator with an installed capacity of 5880 MW had been planned for the dam, but might now be scrapped. Ports near the dam will be revitalized and new ports will be built further out from the dam.
The feasibility study will look at the stability of the ocean floor at the point where the dam will be placed. Also, the sedimentation pattern in the Gulf of Khambat will change and engineers and scientists are modeling how and what effect it will have on other industries and wildlife in the area.
The estimated cost of the Kalpasar project is around US$12 billion.
Dwarka Bay, Gujarat photo via Shutterstock
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