Project offline for 15 years
Choman village seeks revival of hydroelectric project for renewable energy
CHOMAN — Efforts are underway to revive a non-operational hydroelectric project in Nawprdan village, located in Erbil’s Choman district. The project has been idle for 15 years despite past promises of restoration.
Teams from the Kurdistan Regional Government ministries of agriculture and electricity, along with the Kurdistan Innovation Institute, have visited the village and pledged to refurbish and expand the project.
The initiative, originally launched in 1992, utilized water from the Pasan River to provide three amps of electricity to 100 village households. However, operations ceased in 2009 and the project has remained unrepaired.
Shamal Nawprdani, a resident of the village, told 964media that team visited the project site on March 25 and pledged to resume work. “There were previous promises for repairs with allocated funds, but they weren’t completed and we don’t know why,” he said.
Swara Ekrem, former Choman qaymaqam (district governor), emphasized the importance of the project’s revival for increased reliance on renewable energy sources. He also mentioned discussions with the Soran Autonomous Administration to secure funding and meet the project’s requirements.
Attempts by 964media to reach Soran’s electricity directorate for comment were unsuccessful.
Nawprdan is one of six villages in the Choman district with hydroelectric projects. Currently, only projects in Kawarta and Azadi villages are operational. The remaining projects in Khoshkan, Nawend, Pirdi Gallala, and Nawprdan itself await revival.