Preliminary construction on the dam began on November 2, 2010 and the official groundbreaking took place on March 7, 2011. After the completion of the 560 m (1,840 ft) long diversion tunnel, construction of the dam started on August 9, 2012 with placement of the foundation.[4][5] The dam was completed on schedule, on March 7, 2014 but its reservoir did not begin to collect water until February 2015.[6][7] The dam's 26 MW hydroelectric power station is expected to be commissioned in 2015.[8]
Up to 75,000,000 m3 (61,000 acre⋅ft) water from the dam's reservoir, which makes more than half of its capacity, will be transferred to Geçitköy Dam in Northern Cyprus via an 80 km (50 mi) pipeline crossing the Mediterranean Sea under 250 m (820 ft) depth.[4][5]
Part of the populated places in the area such as the villages of Sarıağaç, Akine, Çaltıbükü and Ormancık will be submerged in the reservoir of Alaköprü Dam.