It is one of the 22 dams of the Southeastern Anatolia Project and its purpose is hydroelectric power production, flood control and water storage.

The dam has drawn international controversy,[5] because it will flood portions of ancient Hasankeyf and necessitate the relocation of people living in the region.

The dam will have an overflow spillway on its right bank which will be controlled by eight radial gates which will pour into four chutes before the water reaches a plunge pool.

Its power station will be above ground and will contain 6 x 200 MW Francis turbine-generators with an expected annual generation of 3,833 GWh and gross hydraulic head of 122.6 m (402 ft).

[2][14][15][16] Beginning in 1954 the Turkish government surveyed 53 kilometres (33 miles) of the Tigris river downstream of Diyarbakır with the aim of identifying suitable locations for a hydroelectric power plant at an elevation below 550 metres (1,800 ft).

[17][18] Turkey's Electric Power Resources Survey and Development Administration (EIE) included 10 potential sites in its 1971 Tigris River Pre-Investigation Report.

[20] To avoid inflation and other economic repercussions, the Turkish Government has often sought outside assistance to fund the Ilısu Dam Project.

Shortly after the announcement of the funding loss, Turkey's Environment Minister Veysel Eroğlu said, "Let me tell you this, these power plants will be built.

[22] On 15 July 2010, Andritz Hydro lifted a temporary suspension on supplying parts to the project and announced it would provide the six 200 MW Francis turbines for the power plant.

A 110 m (361 ft) long temporary bridge was constructed upstream of the dam site which is supported by 30 sections of steel pipe.

[35] Completion of the Ilısu Dam caused the flooding of the majority of the ancient city of Hasankeyf, whose history stretches back over 10,000 years.

Three decades of conflict between the Turkish government and the PKK has resulted in the depopulation of many hamlets in the area, and so now their original inhabitants will never be able to return home either, in addition to the others who still live in the region.

[37] The official Turkish government line was expressed by then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the ground-breaking ceremony in 2006: "The step that we are taking today demonstrates that the south-east is no longer neglected.

[41] Such impacts which might lead to the drainage of the Mesopotamian Marshes and destruction of its ecology system,[42][43] were part of the reasons to the emergence of a new wave of Iraqi protests, along with several other issues, especially in Basra Governorate.

In addition, water shortages, lack of rainfall and depleted soils led nearly to a halt in farming rice, corn, sesame, sunflower seeds and cotton;[44] and a decrease in the area planted for wheat and barley by half for the 2018–19 season.