Wadi Al Laith Dam in Holy Makkah - Saudi Arabia
Agriculture & Irrigation
:: Ongoing Projects
:: Starting Date : 2023 ::
Owner: Saudi Ministry of Water, Environment and Agriculture (formerly) - Saudi Irrigation Organization (currently)
Design Consultant: Dar Al-Handasah (Shaer & Partners)
Project Supervisor Consultant: Arab Consulting Engineers ( Moharram - Bakhoum )
The contractor: The Arab Contractors Company (Osman Ahmed Osman and Co.)
Project implementation period: 60 months
Project start date: 3-6-2023
Project end date: 3-6-2028
Al Laith Dam in Holy Makkah aims to control flood and protect Al Laith City and neighboring villages from floods and its hazards, in addition to utilizing the stored water to support drinking water sources in the region and other purposes such as agriculture.
Project Description:
The project is divided into 3 main areas:
1. The main dam.
2. The spillway.
3. The control barriers.
The main dam area includes the following works:
Construction of a rock-fill dam with concrete lining on the front slope(CFGD) with a storage capacity of 83,100,000m3, a length of 420 meters, and a height of 42 meters. The dam’s water section consists of:
- A plastic concrete partition wall extending from a level of 223m and reaching a depth of 65m to the rock layer
- An external impermeable concrete facade to protect the front of the dam, consisting of reinforced concrete placed on the upper slopes from a level of 223m to a level of 242m above sea level.
- Construction of the intake tower and connecting it to the existing tunnel, and placing 3 intakes at 3 levels to draw water to the valve chamber.
- construction of a diversion dam with a height of 15 m from the foundation level during the dam construction phases to protect the works from valley floods during the construction period.
- Implementing a diaphragm wall along the dam, with a length of 381m and a depth of up to 70m until reaching the rock layer below the dam to form a solid water barrier.
- Improving soil properties by deep vibration to depths of up to 25. M.
- Construction of chambers for outlets, control, monitoring, generators, electrical and communications, VIPs, and a parking lot.
- Construction of 2 service roads, 3.7 km length for the first road and 0.115 km for the second road, in addition to constructing an overpass connecting the second service road to the intake tower.
- Installing various types of devices in the dam body for monitoring and record keeping, in addition to providing a fully developed supervisory control system and SCADA system for the complete supervision and management of the dam.
The spillway including the following works:
Increasing the length of the existing spillway by 91 meters, so that the total length of the crest becomes 465m, and constructing a concrete staircase to disperse the force of the water in case of a flood.
The control barriers area, including the following works:
Construction of 10 control barriers on the 2 main valleys and their tributaries, with the aim of reducing the transfer of sediments within Wadi Al Laith basin.