The Uludere Dam is a gravity dam under construction on the Ortasu River (a tributary of the Hezil River) near ðnceler in Uludere District of à Âñrnak Province, southeast Turkey. Under contract from Turkey's State Hydraulic Works, Hidrokon began construction on the dam in 2008 and a completion date has not been announced.
The reported purpose of the dam is water storage and it can also support a 3.5 MW hydroelectric power station in the future. Another purpose of the dam which has been widely reported in the Turkish press is to reduce the freedom of movement of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants. Blocking and flooding valleys in close proximity to the IraqâÂÂTurkey border is expected to help curb cross-border PKK smuggling and deny caves in which ammunition can be stored. A total of 11 dams along the border; seven in à Âñrnak Province and four in Hakkâri Province were implemented for this purpose. In à Âñrnak they are the Silopi and à Âñrnak Dams downstream of the Uludere Dam and the Balli, Kavà Âaktepe, Musatepe and ÃÂetintepe Dams upstream on the Ortasu River. In Hakkari are the Gölgeliyamaç (since cancelled) and ÃÂocuktepe Dams on the Güzeldere River and the Aslandaàand Beyyurdu Dams on the Bembo River.
Construction works were estimated 14% complete in July 2015. Uludere Dam was still under construction as of April 2019.