Karun-4 Dam

The Karun-4 Dam is an arch dam on the Karun River located at 180 km southwest of Shahr-e-Kord in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran.[2] The Karun has the highest discharge of all the Iranian rivers.[3] Its construction is aimed at electric power supply of 2107 million kWh annually and controlling floods in the upper Karun.

Karun-4 Dam
The dam under construction
Location of Karun-4 Dam in Iran
Location	Chahārmahāl-o-Bakhtiyārī Iran
Coordinates	31°35′58″N 50°28′20″E
Construction began	1997
Opening date	2010
Construction cost	1.2 billion dollars
Operator(s)	IWPRDC
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Karun River
Height	230 m (750 ft)
Length	440 m (1,440 ft)
Spillway capacity	6,150 m^3/s (217,000 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Reservoir
Total capacity	2,190,000,000 m^3 (1,780,000 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area	12,813.4 km^2 (4,947 sq mi)
Surface area	29 km^2 (11 sq mi)
Power Station
Commission date	2010-2011
Turbines	4 x 255 MW Francis-type[1]
Installed capacity	1,020 MW

The dam is a concrete double curvature arch-type and 230 metres (750 ft) high from the foundation.[2] The arch dam design is an ideal one for a dam built in a narrow, rocky gorge to hold back water in a reservoir. The dam is curved. Because of the arch shape, the force of the backed up water presses downward against the dam and has the effect of strengthening the dam foundation. The dam withholds a reservoir with a surface area of 29 square kilometres (11 sq mi) and capacity of 2.19 cubic kilometres (1,780,000 acre⋅ft).[4] The dam's first study was conducted in 1995 and river diversion began in 1997. Concrete pouring began in 2006 and the power plant began producing electricity in November 2010.[5][6] On December 11, 2010, the second generator for the dam became operational and was connected to the grid. The dam will eventually have an installed capacity of 1,020 MW.[7] The dam was inaugurated on 6 July 2011 by Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad.[8]

Objectives

It was built to fulfill the followings:

• To produce an average annual hydropower energy as much as 2100 GW-h.
• To join the cascade dams on the Karun River, hence regulate the flow in order to supply the water required by the industry and agriculture downstream.
• To control the destructive floods of the Karun River.[2]

Cost

The dam construction was costed 8600 billion Rials financed by public resources including national and local budget, domestic banks facilities, bonds, as well as foreign facilities (finance, loan, etc.).Initial estimate of annual income from the electricity production amounted to 1353 billion Rials (642 Rials per kilo watt hour).

Build Contractor

1. Daelim (Korea) + Sato (Japan): Main Civil Works
2. Ilbau (Austria) + Forman (Iran): Preconstruction Works
3. Machine Sazi Arak (Iran): Hydraulic Steel Structures
4. Farab (Iran) + Harbin (China): Mechanical Equipment
5. Farab (Iran) + Elin (Austria): Electrical I&C and HVAC Equipment
6. IEO (Iran): GIS Switchgear

See also

• List of power stations in Iran

References

1. "Hydroelectric Power Plants in Iran". IndustCards. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
2. "Basic information". Archived from the original on 2008-06-28. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
3. "Dam history". Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
4. "Dam basics". Retrieved 2008-06-08.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-04-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. http://en.iwpco.ir/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=33
7. "News: Second Unit of Karun 4 Joins Iran's National Network". IPWCO. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
8. "News: Self-sufficiency in Dam construction; Karun4 Dam Inaugurated". Iran Water and Power Resources Development Co. Retrieved 3 September 2011.