Birecik Dam and Hydroelectric Plant
Dam and hydroelectric scheme, 1,220 hm3 reservoir (56 km2 lake); 672 MW installed; 2,500 GWh/year; about 70,000 ha irrigation in Turkey.
Operational
The record
- Country
- Turkey
- Location
- Birecik, Şanlıurfa and Gaziantep
- Coordinates
- 37.054, 37.890
- Technology
- Dam and hydroelectric scheme
- Capacity
- 1,220 hm3 reservoir (56 km2 lake); 672 MW installed; 2,500 GWh/year; about 70,000 ha irrigation
- Capital cost
- US$1.09 billion
- Stage
- Operational
- Owner or client
- Birecik A.S. under a build-operate-transfer concession; transferred to EUAS on 4 October 2016
- Contractor
- Philipp Holzmann, Strabag and GAMA (Birecik A.S. consortium, about 43% of the shares); TEAS held 30%
- Operator
- Verbundplan Birecik Baraj Isletme (first 15 years), then EUAS
- Finance
- Project finance on a build-operate-transfer basis, largely export credits arranged through an international consortium of banks; first major Turkish BOT scheme
- Award or start year
- 1995
- Commissioned
- 2001-10
Record last checked 2026-09-18.
History
- 1995-02
Birecik A.S. established
- 1995
Financial closure reached
- 1996-04
Construction started
- 2000-08
First unit online on 26 August
- 2000-10
Plant entered operation
- 2001-10
Sixth and final unit completed on 3 October
- 2016-10
Plant transferred to EUAS at the end of the BOT term
Sources
8 references
Every field in the record above is taken from the references below. A field that none of them confirms prints as a dash.
- EUAS, Birecik-Nizip HEPP plant page. euas.gov.tr.
- Gives 672 MW (6 x 112 MW), 1,220 hm3 stored, 56 km2 lake, 2.5 billion kWh a year, first unit 26 August 2000, final unit 3 October 2001, and transfer to EUAS on 4 October 2016 at the end of the BOT term.
- P. Obernhuber, W. Zapletal and G. Zenz, Surveillance of Birecik Dam, 1st National Symposium and Exposition on Dam Safety, 28-30 May 2007. tugraz.elsevierpure.com.
- Gives two embankment sections plus a concrete gravity dam, maximum height 62.5 m, crest length 2,530 m, spillway designed for 17,353 m3/s, Birecik A.S. founded February 1995, construction from April 1996, operation from October 2000, 15-year BOT term, operation and maintenance by Verbundplan Birecik Baraj Isletme, majority held by Verbund-Austrian Hydro Power.
- GAMA Holding project page, 6x112 MW Birecik Hydroelectric Power Plant and Birecik Dam. holding.gama.com.tr.
- Gives 2.5 km of structure, 62.5 m height, 56 km2 reservoir, about 70,000 ha irrigated, April 1996 to September 2001, GAMA's own contribution US$223.4 million, and describes it as the first major Turkish finance-build-operate-transfer project.
- International Water Power and Dam Construction, Birecik: a role model for private companies (bot-walled to curl, returns 403). waterpowermagazine.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.
Puts construction cost at US$1.09 billion (DM 2.3 billion), names Philipp Holzmann, Strabag and Gama with about 43% and TEAS with 30%, financial closure 1995 and a 50-bank consortium.