BudgetGuessr rankings

The most expensive dams in our catalogue

The 25 most expensive of 59 built and under-construction dams in the BudgetGuessr catalogue, ranked by documented cost in US dollars.

Ranking

  1. 1Namcha Barwa 南迦巴瓦峰, Tibet, 2012

    Medog Hydropower Station

    People's Republic of China · 2025 · Dam$166.9 billionUnder constructionEstimate
  2. 2The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, China.

    Three Gorges Dam

    People's Republic of China · 2012 · Dam$33.45 billion
  3. 3中国金沙江下游乌东德水电站大坝。

    Wudongde Hydropower Station

    China · 2021 · Dam$17.39 billionEstimate
  4. 4溪洛渡水电站

    Xiluodu Dam

    People's Republic of China · 2014 · Dam$12.9 billion
  5. 5Português A Usina Hidrelétrica de Itaipu (em espanhol: Itaipú, em guarani: Itaipu) é uma usina hidrelétrica binacional localizada no Rio Paraná, na fronteira entre o Brasil e o Paraguai. Construída por ambos os países no período de 1975 a 1982, no qual tanto o Brasil quanto o Paraguai eram governados por ditaduras militares, Itaipu é a segunda maior produtora de energia do mundo, perdendo o posto para a Barragem das Três Gargantas, que em 2014 produziu 98,8 MWh, contra 98,5 MWh de Itaipu. O nome

    Itaipu Dam

    Brazil · 1984 · Dam$12 billion
  6. 6(Altamira-PA, 09/09/2021) Vice-Presidente da República, Hamilton Mourão durante Visita à Usina Hidrelétrica Belo Monte. Foto: Bruno Batista/ VPR

    Belo Monte Dam

    Brazil · 2019 · Dam$10.65 billion
  7. 7Auburn Dam site, Placer/El Dorado Counties, CA, viewed from a distance

    Auburn Dam

    United States · 1968 · Dam$9.6 billionOn holdEstimate
  8. 8Represa Tocoma, en construcción.

    Tocoma Dam

    Venezuela · 2019 · Dam$9.4 billionUnder constructionEstimate
  9. 9Rogun Dam

    Rogun Dam

    Tajikistan · 2023 · Dam$6.1 billionUnder constructionEstimate
  10. 10A Usina hidrelétrica de Tucuruí.

    Tucuruí Dam

    Brazil · 1984 · Dam$5.5 billion
  11. 11Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam aerial view

    Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

    Ethiopia · 2025 · Dam$5 billion
  12. 12Hidroituango 2022

    Ituango D

    Colombia · 2023 · Dam$4.48 billionUnder constructionEstimate
  13. 13The Capanda Dam in Angola.

    Capanda Dam

    Angola · 2007 · Dam$4 billion
  14. 14Bahsa Dam Colony

    Diamer-Bhasha Dam

    Pakistan · 2024 · Dam$3.77 billionUnder constructionEstimate
  15. 15The Longtan Dam, China

    Longtan Dam

    People's Republic of China · 2009 · Dam$2.98 billion
  16. 16Merowe High Dam

    Merowe Dam

    Sudan · 2009 · Dam$2.95 billion
  17. 17Omo River seen from the Karo village of Doose, Ethiopia

    Koysha Dam

    Ethiopia · 2016 · Dam$2.77 billionUnder construction
  18. 18Omo river, Gibe III Dam in Wolayita

    Gilgel Gibe III Dam

    Ethiopia · 2016 · Dam$1.75 billion
  19. 19A U.S. Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter flies near the Tarbela Dam in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Aug. 27, 2010. Defense Department officials announced Aug. 30, 2010, the deployment of 18 helicopters to Pakistan from the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

    Tarbela Dam

    Pakistan · 1976 · Dam$1.5 billion
  20. 20dam and reservoir

    Jinghong Dam

    People's Republic of China · 2008 · Dam$1.47 billion
  21. 212012

    Deriner Dam

    Turkey · 2012 · Dam$1.4 billion
  22. 2263850 Eskin/Bozova/Şanlıurfa, Turkey

    Atat?rk Dam

    Turkey · 1992 · Dam$1.25 billion
  23. 23Karun-4 Dam, Chahar Mahaal o Bakhtiari Province, Iran. (Under Construction)

    Karun-4 Dam

    Iran · 2010 · Dam$1.2 billion
  24. 24King Fahd Causeway - bridge number 4

    King Fahd Causeway

    Bahrain · 1986 · Dam$812.95 million
  25. 25Bui Dam, Ghana in November 2013 shortly before official opening. Looking upstream, approximately north-east. Powerhouse at right, with three orange penstocks visible above the roof (one for each generator). Spillway has five bays. The penstock for the future house unit is visible at the left. The dam crest is about 75 metres above the powerhouse main floor. Powerhouse paved road under construction visible in foreground.

    Bui Dam

    Ghana · 2013 · Dam$790 millionEstimate

How this ranking works

This is a curated catalogue, not an exhaustive list of every megaproject. Projects are ordered by their recorded US-dollar equivalent; each detail page shows the source amount and any currency conversion. Figures are not adjusted for inflation, and construction bills, estimates, and programme costs can have different scopes. Unbuilt proposals and cancelled projects are excluded.

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