Neckartal Dam
The Neckartal Dam, nicknamed the Desert Dragon, is a dam in the Berseba Constituency of Namibia southern ǁKaras Region. It is a curved gravity dam on the Fish River near Berseba, northwest of the regional capital Keetmanshoop. Construction started in 2013 and was initially expected to finish in 2017. Since its completion in 2018, it is the largest dam in Namibia, more than three times the capacity of the Hardap Dam upstream. The dam's purpose is to support a irrigation scheme which has yet to be established.
Construction
The idea to construct a dam near Keetmanshoop already came up during the era of German colonialisation. Upon Namibian independence in 1990, the planning slowly came into motion. Although hailed as a promising job creation project, particularly after commission due to the purpose as an irrigation dam, there were doubts over the necessity to build it. Naute Dam in the same area, likewise an irrigation dam, is under-utilised. However, for an irrigation scheme of as envisaged for the Neckartal Dam, Naute Dam was deemed too small.NamWater commissioned the dam. In March 2013 Italian company Salini Impregilo was awarded the 2.8 billion N$ tender, at that time the largest in Namibia's history, to build the dam. After a legal challenge by one competitor, the tender was withdrawn but re-awarded to the same company in August 2013. Construction started within a month. Originally planned to take 3 years, the project has been delayed by the court case and labour unrest. The legal delays also increased the price by 600 million N$.
Its completion occurred in October 2018, by then the cost had risen to 5.7 billion N$. The filling-up phase was expected to last at least another two years. The dam overflowed for the first time on 19 January 2021 after an exceptionally good rainy season.
Stage 2 of the dam project, involving the laying of pipes and digging of canals for the suggested irrigation projects, has not yet started despite the dam being fully functional.