MUSCAT -- Wadi Dhayqah Dam is the biggest dam structure in the Gulf region, the construction of which was completed only in the third quarter of last year. As joint venture partners the VINCI Construction of France and Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) executed the RO 43 million dam project on behalf of the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources.
It involves the construction of a complex of dam structures and reservoirs designed to harness the immense water potential of the mighty Wadi Dayqah -- one of the Sultanate's biggest and most prodigious wadis. The main dam, soaring to a height of 75 metres and extending 400 metres along its crest, has been built at a site just downstream of Mazara in Qurayat Wilayat.
Dayqah links the Wilayat of Dima W'attayeen in the Sharqiyah region with Qurayat in Muscat Governorate, before reaching the sea at Daghmar. Known as one of Oman's finest natural attractions, it is also one of the largest perennial streams on the Arabian peninsula, with a year-round flow spawning numerous crystal blue pools along its twisting course. Wadi Dayqah's catchment area, covering about 1,900 sq km, is also one of the largest in the Sultanate. Numerous streams in the catchment area swell after sustained rain and the combined flow producing a raging torrent through Wadi Dayqah.
The dam braved the heavy rains in the region that filled the huge reservoir made by the dam and sent millions of cubic metres of floodwater surging over the crest. Aerial views of the surrounding countryside revealed an awe-inspiring sight during and after the Cyclone Phet. The reservoir made by the main dam and the adjoining Saddle Dam was filled to its 100 million cubic metre capacity.
© Oman Daily Observer 2010
