[2][4][5] A site was first identified for the power plant in the 1970s when a study was carried out on the water resources of the Albors Mountains by the Belgian firm Traksionel.

Several sites for dams were identified including Siah Bisheh as a potential place for a pumped-storage power plant.

In 1983, Lahmeyer International was contracted to create designs for Phase II (underground excavation) which were completed in 1985, the same year construction on the dam's diversion tunnels began.

[4][7] Both the upper and lower reservoirs are created by concrete-face rock-fill dams on the Chalus River which has an average inflow of 67.1 cubic metres per second (2,370 cu ft/s).

Its reservoir has a storage capacity of 4,344,220 cubic metres (3,521.92 acre⋅ft) (of which 3,500,000 m3 (2,837 acre⋅ft) is active or usable) and a surface area of 141 square kilometres (54 sq mi).

Its reservoir has a storage capacity of 6,874,709 m3 (5,573 acre⋅ft) (of which 3,600,000 cubic metres (2,900 acre⋅ft) is active or usable) and a surface area of 141 km2 (54 sq mi).

[13] Connecting the upper reservoir to the power station is an intake which feeds water into two 5.7 metres (19 ft) diameter head-race tunnels.

From the surge tanks the tunnels each turn into a 680 metres (2,230 ft) long penstocks which delivers water to the power station which is located underground near the lower reservoir.