Kukule Ganga Dam


The Kukule Ganga Dam is a gravity dam built across the Kukule River in Kalawana, Sri Lanka. The run-of-river-type dam feeds an underground hydroelectric power station located approximately away, via tunnel.

Dam and reservoir

The gravity dam is built across the Kukule River, which is a major mid-basin tributary of the Kalu River. The dam measures and in length and height respectively, with four spillways, and a sand trap on the left-bank. Each spillway gate measures high and wide, and uses the same automated technology as the Victoria Dam.
The dam creates the Kukule Ganga Reservoir, which has a capacity and catchment area of and respectively. After passing through the dam and sand traps, water from the reservoir is fed into a long tunnel, which leads to the underground power station. The tunnel from the dam to the power station, with an internal diameter of, creates a gross head of.

Power station

Water from the tunnel is fed into the underground power station, consisting of two units. This capacity was intentionally limited to due to load issues. The power station generates an average of annually.
Two transformers step up the voltage of the power generated to, which is then transferred to the national grid at the Mathugama Substation, via a long double-circuit transmission line.