[2][3][4] The dam is 143 metres (470 ft) high above the riverbed and its reservoir, Tarbela Lake, has a surface area of approximately 250 square kilometres (97 sq mi).

Positioned where the Indus River emerges from the foothills of the Himalayas and enters the Potwar Plateau, the dam features a reservoir for water storage.

[7] The dam is at a narrow spot in the Indus River valley, named after the town of Tarbela in the Haripur District of the Hazara Division within the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

MA hydroelectric power plant on the right side of the main dam houses 14 generators fed with water from outlet tunnels 1, 2, and 3.

The catchment area upriver of the Tarbela Dam is spread over 168,000 square kilometres (65,000 sq mi) of land largely supplemented by snow and glacier melt from the southern slopes of the Himalayas.

The purpose was to compensate for the loss of water supplies of the eastern rivers (Ravi, Sutlej and Beas) that were designated for exclusive use by India per terms of the treaty.

The remaining portion of upstream blanket and the main dam at higher levels was also completed as part of stage 3 works, which were concluded in 1976.

In the absence of a national policy, the resettlement concerns of the people displaced by the Tarbela Dam were addressed on an ad hoc basis.

In 2011, many such people had still not been resettled or given land in compensation for their losses by the government of Pakistan, in accordance with its contractual obligations with the World Bank.

[18] In addition to fulfilling the primary purpose of the dam, i.e., supplying water for irrigation, Tarbela Power Station has generated 341.139 billion kWh of hydro-electric energy since commissioning.

26.053 billion contract with Chinese firm Sinohydro and Germany's Voith Hydro for executing civil works on the 1,410 MW Tarbela-IV Extension Project.

[8] The Water and Power Development Authority in Pakistan says the third and last unit at its 1,410-MW Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project has been synchronized with the National Grid.

[32] The Tarbela Dam was built with five original tunnels, with the first three dedicated to hydropower generation, and the remaining two slated for irrigation use.

[33] Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority sought expressions of interest for the Tarbela-V Extension Project in August 2014,[34] and was given final consent for construction in September 2015.

The project will require the installation of three turbines with a capacity of 510 MW each in Tarbela's fifth tunnel which was previously dedicated to agricultural use.

[33] In September 2016, the World Bank approved an additional financing of $390 million for the fifth extension hydropower project of Tarbela dam that will support the scaling up of the power generation capacity by adding 1,530 megawatts to the existing tunnel 5.

The project will be financed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), with a variable spread and 20-year maturity, including a six-year grace period.

This will be the first World Bank-supported project in South Asia to be jointly financed with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which will be providing $300m and the Government of Pakistan $133.5m.