The Ghab plain (Arabic: سهل الغاب) is a fertile depression in northwest Syria.[1] The valley was flooded for centuries by the waters of the Orontes River, which transformed it into a swamp.[2] [3] The "Ghab project", beginning in the 1950s, drained the valley and turned it into usable land,[4] providing an extra 41,000 hectares (160 sq mi) of irrigated lands.[5]
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The valley separates the al-Ansariyah mountains in the west from Jabal al-Zawiyah range and the plateau region to the east.[1] It is 63 kilometres (39 mi) long and 12.1 kilometres (7.5 mi) wide.[2]
The project started in 1953 and is considered one of the most important hydraulic projects in northern Syria. Owing to a slight slope (0.10%) in the Orontes in the area of al-Asharnah, the river did not provide enough water to the surrounding territories. The project drained the plain where the River Orontes flowed. The plain was entirely drained in 1968 and provided 11,000 families with lands.[4]
The Ghab project made large areas suitable for agriculture, and new irrigation systems were employed. The system included barrages, canal networks for irrigation and canal networks for drainage. Large barrages were built in Mhardeh, Zaizun, Qarqur and others. The dam at Mhardeh, built in 1961, is 40 metres (130 ft) high, and 200 metres (660 ft) long and holds 65,000,000 cubic metres (85,000,000 cu yd) of water.[4]
Other advantages of the Ghab project were the improvements in the systems of communication through the building of road and rail networks, previously not possible due to the swamps. In addition, malaria decreased because there was no longer stagnant water.[4]