The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and water supply.

[2] The dam was officially inaugurated on 28 June 1971 by Iranian deputy prime minister Safi Asfia and the Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Council of Ministers Mikhail Yefremov.

[2] It is an embankment type dam with sand fill and a clay core.

At a normal water elevation of 777.5 metres (2,551 ft) above sea level, the dam withholds a reservoir of 1.35 cubic kilometres (1,090,000 acre⋅ft) with a surface area of 145 square kilometres (56 sq mi).

[6] Since its opening, the reservoir has provided irrigation water for 400,000 hectares (990,000 acres) of arable land in Azerbaijan and Iran, including about 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) in Dasht-e Moghan area.