Karun 3 Dam and Hydroelectric Plant
Dam and hydroelectric scheme, 3.0 km3 reservoir (1.72 km3 live); eight vertical Francis units of 250 MW; 4,172 GWh/year in Iran.
Operational
The record
- Country
- Iran
- Location
- Izeh
- Coordinates
- 31.802, 50.095
- Technology
- Dam and hydroelectric scheme
- Capacity
- 3.0 km3 reservoir (1.72 km3 live); eight vertical Francis units of 250 MW; 4,172 GWh/year
- Capital cost
- —
- Stage
- Operational
- Owner or client
- Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company
- Contractor
- Farab (electromechanical and hydromechanical EPC); Sabir Construction, Boland Payeh and Tableh on civil works
- Operator
- Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company
- Finance
- Government of Iran
- Award or start year
- 1995
- Commissioned
- 2005-02
Record last checked 2026-09-18.
History
- 1995-06
construction started
- 2004-09
dam completed
- 2004-11
first impounding
- 2005-02
first two units entered service
- 2007
all units in operation
Sources
5 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).
- Double-arch concrete dam 205 m high from foundation with a crest length of 462 m and 1.3 million m3 of concrete, 28 km east of Izeh and 120 km upstream of Karun 1; total reservoir 3,000 million m3 with 1,720 million m3 live over 48 km2 and a 60 km lake; normal water level 845 m a.s.l.; catchment 24,000 km2; eight vertical Francis units of 250 MW each and annual energy of 4,172 GWh; studies 1961-1968; construction started June 1995, dam completed September 2004, first impounding 9 November 2004, first two units February 2005 and full operation by 2007; consultants Mahab Ghodss; main contractors Sabir Construction, Boland Payeh and Tableh.
- The same page also states an installed capacity of 2,280 MW alongside the eight-by-250 MW unit list, so the two figures on the owner's own page do not agree; the unit breakdown of 8 x 250 MW matches Farab, Karoun 3 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.
which gives 2,000 MW in eight units of 250 MW, an underground powerhouse and average annual generation of 4,137 GWh.