Turkey is only one mile away from finishing the building of the highest dam in the world

“They are not just dams, they are a symbol of the Turkish struggle for an unprecedented development renaissance. Yes, dams enable us to control the grace of water flowing from the soil with kindness from God. "

With these words, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the importance of the new dam or the "Yusufeli Dam" construction project during a ceremony attended by video call, taking into account the precautionary measures in the country due to the spread of the Corona pandemic.

And it comes after Turkey was able to build three million cubic meters of concrete out of four million, so that 75% of the construction works of the Yusufeli Dam located in the state of Artvin in the northeast of the country is achieved, and this dam, after its completion, is expected to occupy the third place globally in terms of height as it is up to 275 meters high.

The height of the dam, which is 275 meters, as we mentioned, is at the same height of a skyscraper with 100 floors.

As for the capacity of the Yusufeli Dam, it is expected to be about 2.13 billion cubic meters, and it will generate 888 million kilowatt hours of electrical energy through a 558 MW generating station.

The economic importance of the Yusufeli Dam

The Yusufeli Dam, which is being built by Turkish engineers, gets its importance of the gain that it’s expected to bring for the Turkish economy in the future, as the dam, which is classified as a thin double-curved dam, is being built with materials manufactured in Turkey on the Coruh River, which is the longest in the country, with 410 km long.

The building of the dam is carried out by pouring 1,500 cubic meters of concrete at 3 air lines within six days.

So, It is expected that the process of filling the dam with water will be completed in the middle of next year, followed immediately with the production of electricity as a second stage.

The economic importance of the Yusufeli Dam and the hydroelectric power plant with the cost of one and a half billion Turkish liras annually, comes from aspirations that they’ll contribute significantly to the production of energy that will cover the needs of more than two and a half million people.

The dam will secure more than 11,260 jobs directly in addition to the profits it’ll bring to the farmers in the region with an additional 85 million TL of agricultural income.

It is worth noting that Turkey is considered a pioneer in the field of dam construction, as it has worked on 600 new dams in the last 18 years.

Where Turkey focuses on dams as the first major source of electricity generation in the country.

Dams are the most important energy source in Turkey

The process of producing energy through hydroelectric power plants has doubled  in the 3 largest dams in Turkey during the year 2019, as it’s reached 106% compared to the previous year.

"The Keban, Karakaya and Ataturk" dams were able to generate more than 22.79 billion kilowatt per hour of energy, according to the data that was published by the General Administration of Government Hydraulic Works, an increase that was estimated to be two times more than 2018, which amounted to only 11 billion kilowatt per hour.

The rate of rainfall and snowfall was above the seasonal average in 2019, which, according to the Hydraulic Works Department, has also contributed significantly to the increase in energy production in the three dams, which witnessed a golden year that enabled the provision of electricity to millions of Turkish families, in addition to developing the local economy of the provinces where the three dams are located, not to mention the food supply through fish farms.