IRCOLD Information

Dams meet demand for drinking, irrigation and industrial water supplies. They play a vital role in providing water and energy; fostering well-being and better life conditions for human beings, increasing agricultural products, improving navigation and providing indefinite renewable hydro-electric power; as well as their significant role of controlling overflows and floods. Established in 1970, the Iranian National Committee on Large Dams (IRCOLD) aims at enhancing development and technical knowledge in planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of large dams. The International Commission on large Dams, with its headquarters in Paris, was founded in 1928 (80 years ago). This commission is a non-governmental international organization (NGO) which provides a platform for exchange of knowledge and experience in dam engineering. The main goals of ICOLD as stated in its current constitution are: Ensuring dam safety; Ensuring economic justification for dams, Ensuring dams are built efficiently without negative environment impacts. For the last seventy years, focus of this commission has been put on concerns such as dam safety, monitoring of performances, execution problems, reanalysis of older dams and spillways, and effects of ageing on the environment. More recently, important issues such as construction cost studies, problems related to international rivers, and financial analysis of the dam projects have been added to the list of activities of the commission. IRCOLD is affiliated to the Ministry of Energy of Iran, and is constituted of the supreme council, the executive board and 20 technical committees. The Minister of Energy of Iran is the chairman of the supreme council and the Deputy Minister for Energy Affairs is the deputy chair of the council. The executive board consists of seven members including chairman, secretary-general and 21 technical committees.