The Mosul Dam

Filippo Verre - October 31, 2021

* The cover image of this paper was taken from the Trevi SPA website in the Media Gallery section, available at the following link: https://www.trevispa.com/it/MediaGallery/diga-di-mosul.

Controlling water resources has always been an essential necessity for human beings. Bridges, ports and canals are in fact among the most strategic infrastructures built over time in various parts of the world and in different historical periods. Following the powerful technological and engineering developments that have occurred in recent decades, it is now possible to build important water structures capable of exercising enormous control over entire ecosystems and regions: we are talking about dams or, to be more precise, "mega-dams". Imposing in height and power, mega-dams are currently the cause of numerous disputes at an international level between sovereign states. Very often the construction, and above all the management, of these infrastructures gives rise to the so-called Transboundary Water Conflicts (TWC), or trans-border water conflicts between countries that, despite themselves, share one or more watercourses. In this regard, just think of the recurring tensions between Turkey and Syria over the management of the Euphrates River or the worrying geopolitical situation between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) planned by Addis Ababa on the Blue Nile.

Technically, the Mosul Dam falls squarely into the category of mega-dams. Located on the Tigris River in northwestern Iraq, it is the largest dam in the country and the fourth in the entire Middle East. It is about 60 km from Mosul, a city of great regional importance at a strategic and demographic level1. Its construction began under the regime of Saddam Hussein on 25 January 19812 and it entered into operation relatively quickly, on 7 July 1986. 113 meters high and 3.6 kilometers long, the dam is part of a multipurpose project designed for three different purposes:

1) to provide water as a source of irrigation;

2) to act as a flood control function;

3) hydroelectric power generation.

In short, this is a water infrastructure that is extremely important at an economic and social level for the entire northern Iraqi region.

Fi. 1: La Diga di Mosul vista dall’alto
https://www.wired.it/attualita/ambiente/2016/06/03/diga-di-mosul-importante/

Fig. 2: Mappa irachena
https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/maps/us/dateline.adwar/frameset.exclude.html

A structure of this magnitude requires constant maintenance by highly specialized personnel. Mega-dams are complex works, difficult to build and even more difficult to maintain, especially because of the immense amount of water to manage. In the case of the Mosul Dam, keep in mind that the volume of the reservoir is approximately 11,100 million cubic meters of water. This is a gigantic mass of water that, if poorly managed or artfully tampered with, could cause not only serious inconvenience to millions of Iraqi citizens, but also death and destruction throughout the country. In this regard, according to experts from the US Army Corps of Engineers, the destruction of the dam would cause significant damage in terms of human lives (about half a million people). In addition, according to the technical analysis of Nadhir al-Ansari, an Iraqi engineer who participated in the construction of the dam and who now lives and teaches in Sweden, tampering with the dam could lead to serious accidents capable of causing the death of one million people as well as an unprecedented economic crisis throughout Iraq.

Apparently, the numbers mentioned above could be considered alarmist, especially with regard to the number of victims. In reality, according to a series of international studies3, a sudden collapse of the dam would cause a very powerful anomalous river wave capable of causing very serious damage. The wave that would be released, according to experts, would be able to reach Baghdad, about 350 km from Mosul, in the space of 6 hours. The Iraqi capital would be substantially invaded by millions of cubic meters of water capable of literally bringing most of the productive activities to their knees, in addition to being a harbinger of enormous inconveniences on a human level. Furthermore, it is estimated that, albeit with less power, the wave could also cause inconvenience in Basra, the large southern metropolis more than 400 kilometers from Baghdad, located at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates. In light of these interesting and worrying data, the Mosul Dam has often been defined as the real Iraqi weapon of mass destruction4.

Italian involvement in the defense and maintenance of the great dam

When Mosul was conquered by the Islamic State in June 2014, Iraq and the International Community felt the blow, so to speak. Not only, in fact, had one of the largest Iraqi cities fallen under the control of black terrorists; after a few months it even became one of their capitals together with the Syrian city of Raqqa, conquered a few months earlier, in January 2014. Following these events, the safety of the dam became of primary importance. As mentioned, Mosul is only 60 kilometers from the large hydroelectric structure. If the latter had fallen into the wrong hands, the consequences for Iraq could have been catastrophic. To complicate an already extremely thorny situation, over time the dam had shown signs of collapse in several places. In fact, it needed redevelopment work, being an infrastructure built starting in 1981; furthermore, like all large dams, it is subject to very rapid wear, especially due to the sediments that, over the years, can significantly erode some of the load-bearing structures. In short, the Mosul Dam was in precarious conditions in the early months of 2015, due to the lack of proper maintenance, and was at risk of falling under the control of unscrupulous religious fanatics, ready to do anything to impose their distorted vision of the world.

To resolve the issue of the deterioration of the dam, the Iraqi government announced an international tender aimed at companies specialized in the maintenance of large infrastructures. In March 2016, this tender was won by our Trevi SPA, to which the Ministry of Water Resources in Baghdad entrusted an important redevelopment project5. However, in those months the situation in the Middle East was anything but calm. The Islamic State in 2016 was at the height of its territorial expansion, controlling vast regions between eastern Syria and north-western Iraq. The Italian company based in Cesena was therefore charged with providing for the restoration of a waterworks of extreme strategic importance in conditions of enormous pressure, due to the presence of hostile and dangerous elements a few dozen kilometers from the dam. To overcome this problem, the Italian government, which in those months was presided over by Matteo Renzi, decided to send logistical and military support to defend both the dam and the technicians sent there by Trevi to honor the contract signed with Baghdad. The Italian military mission, with the evocative name Prima Parthica6, was composed of 1,500 soldiers who had been entrusted with the task of protecting the dam from attacks by the Islamic State and defending g

Fig. 3: Militari italiani a difesa della Diga di Mosul
https://www.onuitalia.com/2019/03/05/iraq-litalia-lascia-diga-mosul-passaggio-consegne-a-usa/

Fig. 4 Militari italiani addestrano truppe locali
https://www.difesaonline.it/news-forze-armate/missioni/gli-alpini-della-tf-praesidium-realizzano-una-palestra-di-roccia-presso

The sending of Italian troops to Iraqi soil was part of a context of protecting Rome’s national interests in the Middle East, especially in a nation considered strategic like Iraq. In addition to Trevi, in fact, there were and still are numerous companies from the Bel Paese that operate in the Iraqi economic fabric. First and foremost, ENI, present in Iraq since 2009, which conducts hydrocarbon development activities on an area of ​​over 1,000 square kilometers, 446 of which are managed directly by the Italian multinational. Production and development activities are regulated by a Technical Service Contract (TSC). Production is mainly supplied by the Zubair field, west of Basra, of which Eni has a 41.6% share and which in 2018 alone produced 34,000 barrels per day (in the Italian company’s share). The development activities, instead, concern the execution of the so-called ERP (Enhanced Redevelopment Plan), or a plan to increase oil production for the Zubair project, which will allow reaching the production level of 700,000 barrels per day in the coming years.

In addition to the Six-Legged Dog, Bonatti and Renco are also present on Iraqi territory, two other important Italian companies that have been operating in the country in joint ventures since the end of 2017. They perform an important maintenance function on the eight turbo-gases that power the Zubair plants, where ENI itself operates. Furthermore, according to data provided by the Farnesina economic observatory7, there are numerous Italian companies active throughout Iraqi territory. Among the best known, it is worth mentioning Ge-Bh Nuovo Pignone (supplies machinery, equipment and products derived from oil refining), Maeg Costruzioni, Mdt – Mc Drill Technology (produces machinery and equipment), Panigada Engineering, Melete (specialized in oil refining), Pitaly (supplies machinery, equipment and construction), Saipem, Sicim SPA (construction), SSE (Sirio Sistemi Elettronici, deals with electronic, electromedical and optical products).

Conclusion

Rome’s direct involvement in the defense and maintenance of the Mosul Dam is a clear sign of how much Italy cares about the protection of water resources in a key country like Iraq. Naturally, as we have seen, there are many interests that bind us to the Arab country, from the construction sector to the energy sector. Nonetheless, the Prima Parthica mission, which brought 1,500 soldiers to Iraqi territory, was launched with the primary objective of monitoring the dam and supervising the defense of the Italian personnel operating there. If we exclude the contingent stationed in Lebanon, present since 2006 with the “Leonte” operation, the Italian mission in Iraq was the largest in terms of number of personnel. In 2019, when Prima Parthica ended, the number of Italian soldiers engaged in missions abroad was approximately 5,700 in over 20 countries, from Kosovo to Afghanistan, from Libya to Somalia as well as the two aforementioned Arab nations. Therefore, more than 26% of the military deployed around the world was assigned to the defense of the Mosul Dam.

Such direct involvement by Italy, a country traditionally reluctant to send a large number of men to the field, forces us to make a couple of reflections. First of all, it is appropriate to acknowledge how water issues have progressively gained attention both at Palazzo Chigi and at the Farnesina. Italy has proven to be one of the first European nations to take seriously a problem that will be increasingly present in the coming years in various parts of the world: access to water and the fight for control of water sources. The success of the entire Iraqi operation has made Rome a credible interlocutor at a global level in this regard. Secondly, Italian activism in the maintenance and protection of the Mosul Dam has opened a new and interesting chapter in our diplomatic strategy. We are talking about the so-called “hydro-diplomacy”, which has allowed Rome not only to support a friendly nation in difficulty, but has also significantly increased the presence of our country in the socio-economic fabric of Iraq. The ties between Italy and Iraq after the successful restoration of the dam are very strong; This opens up positive scenarios both for our other companies that want to invest in the Arab country and for the institutional closeness between Rome and Baghdad, increasingly united by a relationship of mutual trust.

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1 Stando ai dati forniti dal governo iracheno, Mosul è una popolosa metropoli settentrionale con più di un 1.600.000 abitanti. Proprio a causa del suo grande valore strategico, la conquista della città da parte dello Stato Islamico nel giugno 2014 destò grande scalpore in Occidente.

2 Per molto tempo venne identificata sia in Iraq che in Medio Oriente come la “diga di Saddam”.

3 Per ulteriori dettagli in merito si rimanda al report pubblicato da Dexter Filkins, A Bigger Problem Than ISIS?, in «The New Yorker», 2 gennaio 2017.

4 Per ulteriori dettagli sul tema si consiglia Francesca Simi & Paola Sconzo, Settlement Dynamics on the Banks of the Upper Tigris, Iraq: The Mosul Dam Reservoir Survey (1980), in «Journal of Open Archaeology Data», Vol. 3, 2020.

5 Il governo di Bagdad stanziò 300 milioni di dollari per riqualificare la diga, circa 273 milioni di euro.

6 Il nome della missione italiana è stato scelto in onore della prima gloriosa legione che, ai tempi dell’Impero Romano, si era spinta molto ad oriente fino ad entrare in contatto con i Parti, storici abitanti di queste terre.

7 https://www.infomercatiesteri.it/presenza_italiana.php?id_paesi=105