The Koldam Dam, sometimes spelled Kol Dam, is an under construction embankment dam

Embankment dam

An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...

 on the Sutlej River in Bilaspur district

Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh

Bilaspur is a district of Himachal Pradesh state, India. It contains the manmade Govind Sagar Lake on the Sutlej River which acts as the reservoir for the Bhakra and Nangal Dam project. The road bridge on this lake at Kandraur is highest of its kind in Asia. Its headquarters are in the town of...

, Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

, India. The main purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it will support an 800 MW power station. The foundation stone for the dam was laid on 5 June 2000 by Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Bajpai. On 14 January 2004, main construction on the dam began. Due to problems associated with habitat and forest loss, the project has been delayed. Generator commissioning was original scheduled for 2009 but has been rescheduled to 2013. The project is currently 66% complete.