Amhara Water Works & Construction Enterprise secured a deal to construct the Ajimma Chacha Irrigation Dam in the Semien Shewa Zone, Amhara Regional State, for 1.5 billion Br. The agreement was signed between the Irrigation Development Commission Commissioner Micheal Mehari (PhD) and CEO of Amhara Water Works Construction Enterprise, Zemene Tsehay. The Dam, which will be built in the Angolela Tera Wereda, will have a capacity of 59 million cubic metres. It spans over a footprint of 7,000ha and is expected to benefit over 14,000 households. Located in the eastern edge of Semien Shewa Zone, it will have a height of 45m and a length of 371m. The construction of the project is expected to be completed in two years. This year the Commission has awarded four projects worth over eight billion Br including the Kaza Irrigation Dam in western Tigray Regional State for 4.3 billion Br and Kahild Dijo Irrigation Dam in Silte Zone for 1.2 billion Br. Currently, the total irrigated site in the country is far less than eight percent of the 15 million hectares of cultivated land and, from this, only about 20pc of the estimated 5.8 to 7.5 million hectares of the parcel could be irrigated.