Karkheh Dam and Hydroelectric Plant
Dam and hydroelectric scheme, 5.3 km3 reservoir (3.9 km3 live); 400 MW in three Francis units; 3,306 million m3/year of regulated water and 340,000 ha of downstream irrigation in Iran.
Operational
Landmark 5.3 km3 held on the Karkheh, regulating 3.3 billion m3 a year for 340,000 hectares of Khuzestan.
The record
- Country
- Iran
- Location
- Andimeshk
- Coordinates
- 32.491, 48.128
- Technology
- Dam and hydroelectric scheme
- Capacity
- 5.3 km3 reservoir (3.9 km3 live); 400 MW in three Francis units; 3,306 million m3/year of regulated water and 340,000 ha of downstream irrigation
- Capital cost
- —
- Stage
- Operational
- Owner or client
- Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company
- Contractor
- Farab (electromechanical and hydromechanical EPC); Harbin turbines and Alstom generators
- Operator
- Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company
- Finance
- Government of Iran
- Award or start year
- 1991
- Commissioned
- 2002-09
Record last checked 2026-09-18.
History
- 1991-12
construction started
- 1995-09
river diverted
- 2002-09
first unit entered service
- 2003
all three units in operation
Sources
4 references
Every field in the record above is taken from the references below. A field that none of them confirms prints as a dash.
- Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company (IWPCO), project page. iwpco.ir.
- (in Persian).
- Earthfill dam with a clay core, 127 m high from foundation with a crest length of 3,030 m, 21 km north-west of Andimeshk in Khuzestan; total reservoir 5.3 billion m3 and useful capacity 3.9 billion m3 after sedimentation over 160 km2; installed capacity 400 MW in three vertical Francis units with average annual energy of 934 GWh; turbines by Harbin and generators by Alstom; 340,000 ha irrigated downstream and average annual regulated volume of 3,306.42 million m3; construction started December 1991, river diverted September 1995, first unit operational September 2002 and full operation by 2003. Farab, Karkheh hydro power plant. farab.com.
- MENA Water Review major projects register and PPP pipeline — compiled from procurer publications, development-bank project pages and trade reporting; each record names its source.
Client Iran Water and Power Resources Development Co.; 400 MW in three units of 133.3 MW at 155 rpm; average annual generation 934 GWh; EPC for electromechanical and hydromechanical equipment; status completed.