Kalabagh Dam for financing assistance, but due to strained relations with Afghanistan (a Soviet ally), this request was denied. The government then approached the World Bank, which agreed to finance the project. At this point in Pakistan's history, previous dam projects such as Mangla (under Ayub Khan) and Tarbela (under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) never faced any opposition. Even Kalabagh was approved by the Central Development Working Party, without dissent. The issue of Kalabagh started to become politicized after the execution of the former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a highly popular leader from the downstream province of Sindh. Adding to the controversy,
Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam The Chixoy Dam (Spanish: Planta Hidroeléctrica Chixoy) is a reinforced concrete dam and power plant spanning the Chixoy River between the Departments of Baja Verapaz, El Quiché and Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. It is the largest structure of its kind in the country. It was built between 1976 and 1985 and it generates approximately 15% of the country's power. The dam's construction was very controversial and displaced many indigenous Maya Achi peoples. Government forced relocations resulted in the Río Negro massacres which claimed up to 5,000 lives between 1980 and 1982. Construction on the dam started in 1976,