[7] The dam was officially inaugurated on 12 September 2013 by Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, along with US Ambassador Richard G. Olson and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shaukatullah Khan.

[9] It has a gross storage capacity of 1,140,000 acre-feet (1.41 km3) and the 60.5 km long main canal can irrigate about 163,000 acres (660 km2)[5] of barren land in Tank district and Tehsil Kulachi of Dera Ismail Khan.

[7] The dam site at Khjori was first envisaged by four British officers of the Royal Corps of Engineers in 1898 and surveys were carried out.

[10] In 2002, Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) hired a Chinese joint venture, CWHEC-HPE, to lead construction at a cost of about Rs.

It hired as sub-contractors China's state-owned Sinohydro Corporation to complete the dam, and Turkey's Tekser to finish irrigation works.

[11] In July 2010, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it would provide funding for the dam.

[13] In January 2011, USAID signed an agreement with WAPDA to provide $40 million to help complete the under-construction Gomal Zam Dam & powerhouse.

On 12 September 2012, WAPDA and USAID signed an agreement for the construction of the Waran Canal System in Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Under the agreement, USAID will provide $12 million in funding for construction of the 164 km-long Waran Canal system to bring 28,000 acres of barren land under permanent irrigation.

[19] In January 2013, WAPDA started the construction of Waran Canal System as an integral component of the Gomal Zam Dam project.

District administrative support to convince farmers to allow for working tracks (along with open drain on both sides) of watercourse pads.

The land that is to be irrigated by Waran Canal is fertile enough not to cater only to the need of food of the local area but rather will contribute to the national exchequer.

All concerns and especially the minister for water and power and the PM are requested to give special attention to Waran Canal and ensure its operation at the soonest time.