Kaptai Dam

Kaptai Dam
The dam in 2023
Location of Kaptai Dam in Bangladesh
Country	Bangladesh
Location	Kaptai, Rangamati District
Coordinates	22°29′42″N 92°13′30″E / 22.49500°N 92.22500°E / 22.49500; 92.22500
Purpose	Power
Status	Operational
Construction began	1957
Opening date	1962
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment
Impounds	Karnaphuli River
Height	45.7 m (150 ft)
Length	670.6 m (2,200 ft)
Width (crest)	7.6 m (25 ft)
Width (base)	45.7 m (150 ft)
Dam volume	1,977,000 m3 (69,800,000 cu ft)
Spillway type	Controlled, 16 gates
Spillway capacity	16,000 m3/s (570,000 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Kaptai Lake
Total capacity	6,477,000,000 m3 (5,251,000 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area	11,000 km2 (4,200 sq mi)
Surface area	777 km2 (300 sq mi)
Normal elevation	33 m (108 ft)
Power Station
Commission date	1962, 1982, 1988
Turbines	2 x 40 MW (54,000 hp), 3 x 50 MW (67,000 hp) Kaplan-type
Installed capacity	230 MW (310,000 hp)

Kaptai Dam (Bengali: কাপ্তাই বাঁধ) is on the Karnaphuli River at Kaptai, 65 km (40 mi) upstream from Chittagong in Rangamati District, Bangladesh. It is an earth-fill embankment dam with a reservoir (known as Kaptai Lake) with water storage capacity of 6,477 million cubic metres (5,251,000 acre⋅ft). The primary purpose of the dam and reservoir was to generate hydroelectric power. Construction was completed in 1962, in then-East Pakistan. The generators in the 230 MW (310,000 hp) Karnafuli Hydroelectric Power Station were commissioned between 1962 and 1988.^[1] It is the only hydroelectric power station in Bangladesh.^[2]