The government of Afghanistan has renamed the name of Salama dam to Afghan-India friendship dam following a robust investment by India in reconstruction of the dam.

The decision was reportedly taken by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani during a meeting of the cabinet of ministers.

Salama dam is located in western Herat province of Afghanistan and it is expected that the dam will incur a cost of around $300 million by the time of its completion.

The reservoir filling in Salma dam project started late in the month of July with the closure of the dam’s diversion tunnel gate.

According to the Indian Consulate in western Herat province, the dam reservoir will be 20 kilometer long and 3 kilometer wide.

The storage capacity of the reservoir will be 640 million cubic meters of water, the Indian consulate said.

The Salma dam project has been built on Harirod river with the financial support of India where at least $300 million have been invested.

Salma dam is expected to produce 42 megawatt of electricity and will irrigate around 80 hectares of agricultural land.

India has played a crucial role by participating in the rebuilding of Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.

Since 2002, the Government of India has committed USD 2 billion dollars to the socio-economic rebuilding of the Afghan state and society in accordance with the development priorities of the Government and the people of Afghanistan.