Rantembe Dam

Rantembe Dam
රංටැබේ වේල්ල
Rantembe Dam ; රංටැබේ වේල්ල
	Upstream view of the Rantembe Dam
Country	Sri Lanka
Location	Rantembe, Central Province
Coordinates	07°12′00″N 80°57′00″E / 7.20000°N 80.95000°E
Purpose	Power
Status	Operational
Construction began	January 1987
Opening date	May 1990
Construction cost	Rs. 4.077 billion (1990)
Owner(s)	Mahaweli Authority
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Gravity dam
Impounds	Mahaweli River
Height (foundation)	42 m (138 ft)
Length	420 m (1,378 ft)
Spillways	4
Spillway type	Tainter gate
Spillway capacity	10,235 m3/s (361,446 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Rantembe Reservoir
Total capacity	21,000,000 m3 (740,000,000 cu ft)
Active capacity	4,400,000 m3 (160,000,000 cu ft)
Catchment area	3,118 km2 (1,204 sq mi)
Operator(s)	CEB
Turbines	2 × 26 MW
Installed capacity	52 MW
Annual generation	180 GWh
	http://www.mahawelicomplex.lk/rantdam.htm

The Rantembe Dam (Sinhala: රංටැබේ වේල්ල) is a 52-megawatt hydroelectric gravity dam at Rantembe, in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Construction of the dam began in January 1987, and was completed on schedule in April 1990. The dam was constructed by the German 'Joint Venture Randenigala'; a different German joint venture has built the Randenigala Dam, further upstream.

Construction of the dam cost approximately Rs. 4.077 billion (1990), of which 34.7% (Rs. 1.050 billion) was funded by the Ceylon Electricity Board, with the majority of the remainder funded by Germany.^[1]

Dam, reservoir, and power station

The Rantembe Dam, located just 2.8 km (1.7 mi) downstream of the Randenigala Dam, measures 42 m (138 ft) in height, 420 m (1,378 ft) in length, and consists of 4 tainter gate spillways with a combined discharge capacity of 10,235 m³/s (361,446 cu ft/s).

The dam creates the relatively small Rantembe Reservoir, which has a catchment area of 3,118 km² (1,204 sq mi), and a total capacity of 21,000,000 m³ (740,000,000 cu ft).

Water from the reservoir is channelled through the dam through a steel penstock to power the two 26-megawatt turbines. The power station's combined output of 52-megawatts generates 180 GWh annually.^[1]