It is a curved gravity dam on the Fish River near Berseba, c. 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of the regional capital Keetmanshoop.

[1] Although hailed as a promising job creation project, particularly after commission due to the purpose as an irrigation dam, there were doubts over the necessity to build it.

[2] Italian company Salini Impregilo was awarded the 2.8 billion Namibian dollar tender to build the dam in March 2012.

Originally planned to take 3 years, the project has been delayed by a court case and labour unrest.

The dam overflowed for the first time on 19 January 2021 after an exceptionally good rainy season.