Silvan Dam is an embankment

concrete-face rock-fill A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

currently under construction on the

Batman River The Batman River is a major tributary of the Tigris, joining it near the source of Tigris called Dicle River in southeast Turkey. The region along the Batman River is known for its oil fields. Course The river originates in the Anti-Taurus M ...

in the district of Silvan,

Diyarbakır Province Diyarbakır Province ( tr, Diyarbakır ili, Zazaki: Suke Diyarbekır ku, Parêzgeha Amedê) is a province in southeastern Turkey. The province covers an area of 15,355 km2 and its population is 1,528,958. The provincial capital is the cit ...

in southeastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. It is part of the

Southeastern Anatolia Project The Southeastern Anatolia Project ( tr, Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) is a multi-sector integrated regional development project based on the concept of sustainable development for the 9 million people (2005) living in the Southeastern Anatol ...

and located upstream of the

Batman Dam Batman Dam is one of the 22 dams of the Southeastern Anatolia Project of Turkey, built on the Batman River, north of Batman, in southeastern of Turkey. It was constructed between 1986 and 1999. There is a hydroelectric power Hydroelectricit ...

. Construction began on 26 July 2011. The purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and irrigation. It is designed to irrigate an area of . The power station will have an installed capacity of 160 MW. In 2014, the dam, as well as other in southeast Turkey such as the Ilisu Dam, became a prime target of

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sou ...

(PKK) militants after peace talks collapsed with the government. Attacks on the dam, supporting structures and workers are part of the PKK's efforts to stop construction. These attacks delayed construction by 2 years. The construction of the Silvan Tunnel which brings the water from the dam to the surrounding plains started in June 2019. The dam body was completed in January 2021 and some sources say the entire project was completed in the end of 2022. other sources say it is still under construction.

References

External links

Dams in Diyarbakır Province Southeastern Anatolia Project Rock-filled dams Hydroelectric power stations in Turkey Dams on the Batman River {{Turkey-dam-stub Dams under construction in Turkey