[2] The 320 MW dam was inaugurated by President Omar al-Bashir in February 2017, with final stages completed later that year.

The twin dam complex has a joined reservoir with a storage capacity of about 3.7 billion cubic metres (3,000,000 acre⋅ft) of water.

The project includes the construction of hydropower stations on both Rumela and Burdana dams with a total installed capacity of 320 MW, and annual firm energy of 834 gigawatt-hours (3,000 TJ).

[5] The project was announced in April 2010 with the aims of supporting the development of eastern Sudan by providing irrigation for local agriculture, supplying potable water, and power generation.

The project also aimed to increase agriculture production in the New Halfa area of Kassala currently irrigated by the Khashm el-Girba Dam, and the development of new land consisting of 504,200 hectares (1,246,000 acres) in Upper Atbara.