Sennar Dam


The Sennar Dam is an irrigation dam on the Blue Nile near the town of Sennar in the Al Jazirah region of Sudan. The dam is long and has a maximum height of. It was designed by the Scottish engineer Sir Murdoch MacDonald, begun in 1914 and completed in 1925 by the British contractor.

Construction

Work on the dam started in 1914, but was almost immediately interrupted by the outbreak of World War One. Work recommenced in 1919, the contractors being the Sudan Construction Company, who carried on the work until 1921 when work was stopped for a second time as it became clear that the estimated cost of the scheme would be considerably exceeded.
In 1922, with further funds obtained, six British firms were invited to tender to complete the dam and build the connecting canal system. S Pearson and Sons was successful, and contracted to complete the dam by July 1925. Oswald Longstaff Prowde was a resident engineer and John Watson Gibson was site agent. Work began in December 1922 and the dam was finished in May 1925.