62: Bekhme Dam مشروع سد بخمة قضاء عقرة محافظة دهوك كردستان العراق

Bekhme Dam is the largest dam in Iraq and the fourth largest in the world, located near Aqra in the Behdinan region. Initial studies began in the 1930s during the monarchy, and in 1953 the American engineering firm Herta conducted geological surveys and designed a 500‑meter gravity dam with estimated costs of about $1.485 billion. Turkish company Inka and Yugoslavian Hidrographenia carried out the first phases from 1987 to 1991, completing roughly 34–35 % of the structure. Work halted in June 1991 due to the Second Gulf War, the 1991 Iraqi uprising, and the withdrawal of most of Iraqi Kurdistan from central government control; equipment was seized by Kurdish militia and sold to Iran, forcing the Iraqi government to compensate the Turkish and Yugoslav companies. After the 2003 occupation, a joint Iraqi‑foreign committee in 2005 revisited the design, and by 2007 the projected cost had risen to $5 billion, yet the project remains unfinished due to political and technical obstacles. The dam sits near the town of Shqlawa, 40 km from the Iranian border on the upper Zab tributary of the Tigris. It measures 480 m long, 128 m wide, and 186 m high, with a storage capacity of about 14.4 billion cubic meters, intended to irrigate Erbil plains, generate hydroelectric power, and mitigate flood risks.