Boghra Irrigation Canal

Aerial photograph of Helmand River at Gereshk in 2011

Boghra Irrigation Canal or Nahr-e Bughra is a canal some 155 kilometres long in central

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primar ...

, serving to divert water from the

Helmand River The Helmand River (also spelled Helmend, or Helmund, Hirmand; Pashto/Persian: ; Greek: ' (''Etýmandros''); Latin: ') is the longest river in Afghanistan and the primary watershed for the endorheic Sistan Basin. It emerges in the Sanglakh ...

and the Arghandab for farmland. The Afghan government received US funding of $21 million on November 23, 1949, for the canal system. The Boghra, Shamalon and Marja canals were completed by 1954. It is controlled by the

Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority The Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority (HAVA) based in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan, originally named the Helmand Valley Authority (HVA) until its expansion in 1965,Canals in Afghanistan Helmand River Buildings and structures in Helmand Province {{Helmand-geo-stub