The Khun Dan Prakan Chon Dam was completed in 2005. It is 93m high, 2720m long and an incredible 5.5 million cubic meters of concrete. It has a storage capacity of 224 million cubic meters of water. It is the biggest dam in Thailand. It is also the largest and longest roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam in the world.
The Khun Dan Prakan Chon Dam was originally named the Khlong Tha Dan Dam. The Thai authorities subsequently changed the name to the Khun Dan Prakan Chon Dam, which is the stream that flows from Heaw Narok Waterfall. You may still see some road signs pointing to Khlong Tha Dan Dam but most now call it the Khun Dan Prakan Chon Dam. They are the same place.
View from the reservoir to the dam His Majesty King Bhumipol initiated the dam project. Nakhon Nayok had long suffered from a cycle of floods and drought. The resulting poor acidic soil caused Nakhon Nayok’s farmers great hardship and occasional flash floods had claimed many lives.
His Majesty the King, highly revered by the Thai People, was aware of the suffering this cycle was causing to the people of Nakhon Nayok. He personally came to inspect the area in 1993. He spoke to local people about their problems, inspected the area on foot and by air. He concluded that a water The Khlong Tha Dan Dam releases water into Nakon Nayok River all year round.management and irrigation system could solve many of Nakhon Nayok’s problems and initiated the Tha Dan Dam project. Construction of the dam commenced in 1999.
The dam was built using the roller compressed concrete (RCC) technique. This involves adding lignite fly ash to the cement mix. This improves the fluidity and workability of the mix while reducing the amount of cement needed, so reducing material costs. The mix is then compacted by rollers to create a very strong concrete with excellent long-term resilience.