Khoda Afarin Dam

Coordinates: 39°9′35″N 46°56′05″E / 39.15972°N 46.93472°E / 39.15972; 46.93472
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Khoda Afarin Dam
Khoda Afarin Dam in June 2013
Khoda Afarin Dam is located in Azerbaijan
Khoda Afarin Dam
Location of Khoda Afarin Dam in Azerbaijan
Official nameXudafərin SES, سد خداآفرین
CountryIran/Azerbaijan
LocationKhomarlu, East Azerbaijan Province/Soltanlı, Jabrayil Rayon
Coordinates39°9′35″N 46°56′05″E / 39.15972°N 46.93472°E / 39.15972; 46.93472
StatusOperational
Construction began1999
Opening date2008
Owner(s)Azərenerji ASC/East Azerbaijan Regional Water Authority
Dam and spillways
Type of damEmbankment, earth-fill
ImpoundsAras River
Height64 m (210 ft)[1]
Length400 m (1,300 ft)[2]
Reservoir
CreatesKhoda Afarin Reservoir
Total capacity1.612 km3 (1,307,000 acre⋅ft)[3]
Active capacity1.495 km3 (1,212,000 acre⋅ft)
Surface area20 km2 (7.7 sq mi)[3]
Power Station
Installed capacity102 MW (137,000 hp)

Khoda Afarin Dam (Persian: سد خداآفرین, also spelled as Khodaafarin Dam or Khudafarin Dam) is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Aras River straddling the international border between Iran and Azerbaijan. It is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Khomarlu in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) southwest of Soltanlı in Jabrayil District, Azerbaijan. Armenian de facto protectorate Republic of Artsakh occupied the area in 1993, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, but on 18 October 2020, the Azerbaijani forces retook control of the dam during 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.[4] It is located 1 km (0.62 mi) upstream of the Khudafarin Bridges.

The purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and irrigation. It was conceived as a joint project with the Soviet Union and both sides reached an agreement in October 1977. Designs were finalized in 1982, revised in the early 1990s and construction began in 1999.[5]

The dam began to impound water in 2008. It was inaugurated in 2010. The irrigation works are still underway.[6] During construction, several Bronze Age sites were discovered, including the grave of a Saka-Scythian warrior. The reservoir filling, or impoundment, was delayed in 2008 to accommodate excavations.[7][8] The dam's power plant has an installed capacity of 102 megawatts (137,000 hp) and is designed to irrigate 75,000 hectares (190,000 acres).[5][9]

On 19 May 2024, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi commissioned the Khoda Afarin hydroelectric complex with its respective water reservoir holding 503 million m3 as 40% of its total capacity; in addition to inaugurating the Giz Galasi hydroelectric complex.[10][11] Following the inauguration of Giz Galasi and the commissioning of Khoda Afarin, the Iranian Air Force Bell 212 helicopter which was enroute to Tabriz and was carrying Raisi and others[a] crashed killing everyone aboard in the mountains of Jofa at Jolfa region in East Azerbaijan at 13:30 local time (10:00 GMT) about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south-west of the village of Uzi in a remote, mountainous area about 58 kilometres (36 mi) south of the Qiz-Qalasi Dam. After departing the dam area the Bell 212 helicopter was heading to Tabriz, which is about 130 kilometres (81 mi) to the south because Raisi was scheduled to inaugurate a Tabriz oil refinery project [fa; fr] later on 19 May 2024.[12][13][14] Both stations are expected to produce 368 million kWh annually.[15]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ According to the IRNA news agency, the passengers killed aboard the Iranian Air Force Bell 212 helicopter which crashed were the Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister of Iran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the governor of East Azerbaijan province, Malek Rahmati, Tabriz’s Friday prayer leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, a senior Shia cleric who was also Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s official representative in East Azerbaijan, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Brig-Gen Mohammad Mehdi Mousavi, who was the head of the president's security team, the pilots Col Mohsen Daryanush and Col Seyyed Taher Mostafavi, and technician Maj Behrouz Qadimi. The former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated that the fifteen Iranian Bell 212s often are lacking parts and are maintained poorly.[12][13][14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Dams (>15 m) Under Construction in IRAN" (PDF). WRM. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Construction operation of Khoda Afarin dam power plant was begun". Farab Co. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Reducing Transboundary Degradation in the Kura-Ara(k)s River Basin (updated transboundary diagnostic analysis)" (PDF). Tbilisi, Georgia; Baku, Azerbaijan; Yerevan, Armenia. September 2013. p. 26.
  4. ^ Азербайджан взял под контроль Худаферинский мост в Карабахе, заявил Алиев [Azerbaijan took control of the Khudaferin Bridge in Karabakh, Aliyev said] (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Reducing Transboundary Degradation in the Kura-Ara(k)s River Basin (updated transboundary diagnostic analysis)" (PDF). Tbilisi, Georgia; Baku, Azerbaijan; Yerevan, Armenia. September 2013.
  6. ^ سد خداآفرین 30 هزار هکتار از اراضی آذربایجان شرقی را آبیاری خواهد کرد [Khdaafryn dam will irrigate 30 thousand hectares of land in East Azarbaijan] (in Persian). WNN. 20 April 2010. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  7. ^ "Archaeologists rush to save Bronze Age sites in northwestern Iran". Mehr News Agency (via Payvand Iran News). 2 December 2008. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  8. ^ "Grave of a Saka-Scythian Warrior Discovered at Khoda-Afarin Dam Reservoir". The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies. 8 December 2008.
  9. ^ "Farab Co. - Energy & Water Projects". www.farab.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-29.
  10. ^ "Azerbaijan, Iran inaugurate Giz Galasi hydroelectric complex on Aras River". Yeni Şafak. 19 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Ceremony to commission "Khudafarin" hydroelectric complex and inaugurate "Giz Galasi" hydroelectric complex was held with participation of Azerbaijani and Iranian Presidents". Azerbaijan State News Agency. 19 May 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Ebrahim Raisi: What we know about deadly Iran helicopter crash". BBC. 20 May 2024. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b Sharma, Divyam, ed. (20 May 2024). "Turkish Drone Draws Star, Crescent After Finding Iran President's Chopper: The chopper navigated through dense fog and harsh weather and crashed in the mountains of Jofa a few minutes after taking off". NDTV (ndtv.com). Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  14. ^ a b Gambrell, Jon (20 May 2024). "Iran's president and foreign minister die in helicopter crash at moment of high tensions in Mideast". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024 – via MSN.
  15. ^ "Xudanın da afərin dediyi layihə necə həyata keçirildi?" [How was the project that God said was "well done" implemented?] (in Azerbaijani). Müsavat. 21 October 2020.
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