Randenigala Dam


The Randenigala Dam is a large hydroelectric embankment dam at Rantembe, in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Construction of the dam began in November 1982, and was completed in approximately. The dam and power station was ceremonially opened by then President J. R. Jayawardene in 1986.
Construction of the dam cost approximately, of which 24.6% was funded by the local government, and the majority of the remainder by Germany.

Dam

The Randenigala Dam is located downstream of the Victoria Dam, and upstream of the Rantembe Dam. Randenigala measures in height, in length, with a crest and base width of and respectively. The embankment dam is made mostly of rocks, and consists of a clay core.
Three large controlled tainter gate chute spillways, with a combined discharge volume of, are constructed at the southern end of the dam. The three spillways measure in length, with a combined width of.

Reservoir

The dam creates the Randenigala Reservoir. With a catchment area of and a total storage capacity of, Randenigala is one of the largest reservoirs in the country.
The reservoir experiences approximately of rainfall annually. In addition to this, the reservoir is also topped up with water from the Victoria Reservoir upstream, and the Mahaweli River.

Power station

The power station is located immediately downstream of the dam, on the left bank. Water from the reservoir is delivered to the power station via a single steel-lined tunnel with a length and diameter of and respectively.
The plant consists of two generators with a rated capacity of each, powered by two francis turbines. The units were commissioned in August and September 1986 respectively. At a combined capacity of, the plant generates annually.