{{EngvarB|date=March 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Infobox dam | name = Kaptai Dam | name_official = | image = Kaptai Lake sluice gate.jpg | image_size = 200px | image_caption = The dam in 2023 | image_alt = | location_map = Bangladesh | location_map_size = | location_map_caption = | coordinates = {{Coord|22|29|42|N|92|13|30|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | country = Bangladesh | location = Kaptai, Rangamati District | purpose = Power | status = O | construction_began = 1957 | opening = 1962 | demolished = | cost = | owner = | dam_type = Embankment | dam_height = {{cvt|45.7|m}} | dam_height_thalweg = | dam_height_foundation = | dam_length = {{cvt|670.6|m}} | dam_width_crest = {{cvt|7.6|m}} | dam_width_base = {{cvt|45.7|m}} | dam_volume = {{cvt|1977000|m3}} | dam_elevation_crest = | dam_crosses = Karnaphuli River | spillway_count = | spillway_type = Controlled, 16 gates | spillway_capacity = {{cvt|16000|m3/s}} | res_name = Kaptai Lake | res_capacity_total = {{cvt|6477000000|m3|acre.ft}} | res_capacity_active = | res_capacity_inactive = | res_catchment = {{cvt|11000|km2}} | res_surface = {{cvt|777|km2}} | res_elevation = {{cvt|33|m}} | res_max_depth = | res_max_length = | res_max_width = | res_tidal_range = | plant_operator = | plant_commission = 1962, 1982, 1988 | plant_decommission = | plant_type = | plant_turbines = 2 x {{cvt|40|MW}}, 3 x {{cvt|50|MW}} Kaplan-type | plant_capacity = {{cvt|230|MW}} | plant_annual_gen = | website = }} '''Kaptai Dam''' ({{langx|bn|কাপ্তাই বাঁধ}}) is on the Karnaphuli River at Kaptai, {{cvt|65|km}} 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 {{convert|6477|e6m3|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 {{cvt|230|MW}} '''Karnafuli Hydroelectric Power Station''' were commissioned between 1962 and 1988.<ref name="boi">{{cite book |last=Bari |first=M Fazlul |year=2012 |chapter=Dam |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Dam |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |access-date=11 November 2015 |archive-date=7 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107085640/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Dam |url-status=live }}</ref> It is the only hydroelectric power station in Bangladesh.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=People versus Power: The Geopolitics of Kaptai Dam in Bangladesh |last=Saila Parveen |first=I. M. Faisal |date=21 July 2010 |journal=International Journal of Water Resources Development |volume=18 |pages=197–208 |doi=10.1080/07900620220121756|s2cid=154589647 }}</ref>
==History== [[File: Kaptai dam in East Pakistan being visited by Ayub Khan.jpg|200x200px|thumb|left|Kaptai Dam being visited by President of Pakistan Ayub Khan]] thumb|left|Kaptai Dam in 1965|200x200px A brief reconnaissance occurred in 1906 when the Karnafuli Hydropower Station was first contemplated. A second study was carried out in 1923. In 1946, E. A. Moore recommended the proposed project at Barkal about 65 kilometers upstream of the present dam site at Kaptai. In 1950, the Marz Rendal Vatten Consulting Engineers suggested a site at Chilardak, about 45 kilometers upstream of Kaptai.
In 1951, the government engineers proposed Chitmoram, {{cvt|11|km}} downstream of the present site. Under the guidance of the chief engineer (Irrigation) Khwaja Azimuddin, the construction site was chosen in 1951. Utah International Inc. was selected as a construction contractor. Construction of the dam started in 1957 and was completed in 1962 during the era of President Muhammad Ayub Khan.
During his tenure as Governor, Azam Khan joined hands with American aid chief retired Air Force Colonel Charles W. Edwards to finish the much-anticipated, $100,000,000 multi-purpose dam on the Karnafuli River in East Pakistan, which had been marred by mismanagement and corruption in U.S. aid projects. According to a report by Milt Freudenheim in the ''Chicago Daily News'', the success of the Karnafuli River dam project under Azam Khan's administration, was characterised as the first major success of American aid in the region, earning him a reputation as a "get-things-done powerhouse."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/appleton-post-crescent-1962-04-15/page/n1/mode/2up?q=%22Gen+Azam+Khan%22|title=2 Efficient Men Putting End to Aid Scandal: Fight Boondoggling In East Pakistan to Complete Big Dam|first=Milt|last=Freudenheim|date=15 April 1962|publisher=Chicago Daily News}}</ref>
==Construction== Starting in 1957, the initial phase of the construction was completed in 1962. By this time the dam, spillway, penstock, and two 40 MW Kaplan turbine generators were built in the power station. In August 1982 a 50 MW generator was commissioned. In October 1988 the fourth and fifth generating units, both 50 MW Kaplan-type turbines, were installed which raised the total generation capacity to 230 MW.<ref name=unit>{{cite web |title=Power Plants |url=http://www.bpdb.gov.bd/download/power_plants.pdf |publisher=Bangladesh Power Development Board |date=March 2010 |access-date=15 March 2013 |archive-date=26 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526125450/http://www.bpdb.gov.bd/download/power_plants.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
The total cost of Unit 1, Unit 2, and a part of Unit 3 was Rs. 503 million and the total cost of extension was Tk. 1,900 million. The project was financed by the East Pakistan Government (at the time), the United States, and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund.<ref name=unit /><ref name=boi />
==Description== left|thumb|Boat on Kaptai Lake|180x180px The earthen dam is {{cvt|670|m}} long and {{cvt|45.7|m}} wide with a 16-gate spillway on the left side.<ref name="boi"/> The construction of the dam submerged {{cvt|655|km2}} area. This included {{cvt|220|km2}} of cultivable land, 40 percent of the cultivable land in the area, and displaced 18,000 families and 100,000 tribal people, of which 70% were Chakma. The dam flooded the original Rangamati town and other structures.<ref name="internal">{{cite web |url=http://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/(httpEnvelopes)/C2EA848CB001371D802570B8005A719E?OpenDocument |url-status=dead |title=The construction of the Kaptai dam uproots the indigenous population (1957–1963) |website=Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222433/http://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/(httpEnvelopes)/C2EA848CB001371D802570B8005A719E?OpenDocument |archive-date=27 September 2007 |access-date=1 February 2007}}</ref>
==Social and ecological effects== Inhabitants of the storage reservoir area who lost their homes and farmland due to flooding were not compensated. More than 40,000 Chakma tribals emigrated to Arunachal Pradesh,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chakravarty |first1=Ipsita |title=50 years on, Chakma refugees from Bangladesh are still denied citizenship rights in Arunachal |url=https://scroll.in/article/845129/50-years-on-chakma-refugees-from-bangladesh-are-still-denied-citizenship-rights-in-arunachal |work=Scroll.in |access-date=27 January 2019 |archive-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127152559/https://scroll.in/article/845129/50-years-on-chakma-refugees-from-bangladesh-are-still-denied-citizenship-rights-in-arunachal |url-status=live }}</ref> India.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/how-chakmas-and-hajongs-settled-in-north-east-why-arunachal-worries-about-citizenship-4851866/ |title=How Chakmas and Hajongs settled in North East, why Arunachal worries about citizenship |work=The Indian Express |date=20 September 2017 |access-date=21 September 2017 |archive-date=21 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921144301/http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/how-chakmas-and-hajongs-settled-in-north-east-why-arunachal-worries-about-citizenship-4851866/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The scarcity of land is considered a main cause of the continuing conflict in the area.<ref name="internal"/>
The building of the dam and reservoir also caused the destruction of wilderness and the loss of wildlife and wildlife habitats.<ref name="boi"/>
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{stack|{{Portal|Bangladesh|Water|Renewable energy}}}} {{Commons category|Kaptai Dam}} {{Electricity generation in Bangladesh}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070108063600/http://www.dams.org/kbase/submissions/showsub.php?rec=soc032 Dams Caused Environmental Refugees of Ethnic Minorities] *{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071027042420/http://www.worldlakes.org/lakedetails.asp?lakeid=10756 Profile]}} *[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/dam/emb_forces.html Embankment Dams] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929201413/http://www.updfcht.org/jum.html Jum Cultivation and Environmental Degradation in CHT]
Category:Dams in Bangladesh Category:Earth-filled dams Category:Karnaphuli River Category:Buildings and structures in Chittagong Division Category:Kaptai Upazila Category:Dams completed in 1962 Category:Economy of Chittagong Division Category:History of Chittagong Division Category:1962 establishments in East Pakistan
de:Karnaphulistausee <!-- German article describes both the dam and the lake -->