Construction of the $1.6 billion Birecik hydropower plant in Turkey has been completed in under five years.
The plant, on the Euphrates in Birecik, southern Turkey and about 30km from the Syrian border has been constructed under the build-own-transfer model which the Turkish government has favoured for power generation projects.
Birecik will have a final generating capacity of 672MW when all the turbines are online. The project involved construction of a 2500m barrage with a maximum height of 62.5m. The barrage comprised two embankment dams flanking a concrete structure housing the power station, intake works and spillway structure. The volume of water capable of being retained behind the dam is 620 million cubic metres.
The project was built by a private sector consortium led by Philipp Holzmann, the leading foreign investor. The plant will be operated by the private sector for 15 years after which it will be handed over to the Turkish government. The power generated during this period will be sold to finance the debt for construction of the project.
Birecik has six turbines, though only two of those have so far been connected to the grid. Annual output from the plant is expected to be 2500GWh.
