The river basin plays an important in role in Mauritanian economy facilated by investment in the 1970s. The Mauritanian government initiated an irrigation and development scheme in 1975 for the Gorgol River valley where the dam across the Gorgol would increase arable land by over 3,600 ha (9,000 acres). This project was to be followed by other dams that together would add 30,000 ha (74,100 acres) for food production