The dam builders' dream

2006-03-15

A new dam being built near the Algerian capital will bring water supplies to its growing population and irrigation to the agricultural lands surrounding it. But difficult ground conditions threatened to slow down the construction process.

Razel’s Plant Manager Jacky Legras, Excavation Manager Jean-Louis Chapuis, Project Engineer Samia Izri, and Atlas Copco CMT Business Line Manager Ahcène Zabila. In the background is an Atlas Copco ROC 442 and a portable compressor.

Once a malarial swamp, the Mitidja Plain, east of the Algerian capital Algiers, has long been one of the country’s most important agricultural regions, with magnificent vineyards and citrus groves nourishing in the alluvial soil. On either side of the dam, Atlas Copco MAI self-drilling anchors are being used to stabilize the slopes, which are also being made less steep.

But the area is also vulnerable to droughts and floods. Furthermore, the demand for drinking water for the residents of greater Algiers has also continued to grow as its population has expanded, putting even more pressure on local water supplies.

To address both of these issues at once, the Algerian Government has, under the recommendation of the National Dam Agency, ANBT (Agence Nationale des Barrages et des Transferts), embarked on an ambitious plan to construct a dam in the Isser River valley. The valley is a wadi, a network of streams that run dry
when not fed by seasonal rains.

Construction of the Koudiat Acerdoune dam, located 80 kilometres southeast of Algiers, started in September 2002 and is scheduled for completion at recommendation of the National Dam the end of 2007. It will stand 121 metres tall with a span of 420 metres.

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