Nakhon Nayok
A beautiful province of Thailand
Khlong Tha Dan Dam
The Khlong Tha Dan Dam was completed in 2005. It is 93m high, 2720m long and an incredible 5.5 million cubic meters of concrete. It has a storage capacity of 224 million cubic meters of water. It is the biggest dam in Thailand. It is also the largest and longest roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam in the world.
Rather confusingly, the Thai authorities have recently started referring to this dam as Khun Dan Pra Kan Chon Dam, which is the stream from Heaw Narok Waterfall. You will see some road signs pointing to Khlong Tha Dan Dam and others to Khun Dan Pra Kan Chon Dam. They are the same place.
His Majesty the King initiated the dam project. Nakhon Nayok had long suffered from a cycle of floods and drought. The resulting poor acidic soil caused Nakhon Nayok's farmers great hardship and occasional flash floods had claimed many lives.
His Majesty the King, highly revered by the Thai People, was aware of the
suffering this cycle was causing to the people of Nakhon Nayok. He personally
came to inspect the area in 1993. He spoke to local people about their problems,
inspected the area on foot and by air. He concluded that a
water management and irrigation system could solve many of Nakhon Nayok's
problems and initiated the Tha Dan Dam project. Construction of the dam
commenced in 1999.
The dam was built using the roller compressed concrete (RCC) technique. This involves adding lignite fly ash to the cement mix. This improves the fluidity and workability of the mix while reducing the amount of cement needed, so reducing material costs. The mix is then compacted by rollers to create a very strong concrete with excellent long-term resilience.
The benefits for Nakhon Nayok include:
- Reduce damage from flooding.
- Constant water supply for agricultural irrigation.
- Water supply for local community.
- Fish stocks in reservoir.
- Tourism and natural scenery.
The lives of Nakhon Nayok's people have already improved with the completion of the dam. Tourism and agriculture revenues are up and local land values have jumped sharply as investors look to cash in on the booming tourist industry.
Dams are rarely architecturally beautiful but the sheer scale of these constructions makes them an impressive sight. Visitors can go to the top of the dam and enjoy the spectacular scenery. There is a small park by the top and from there you can walk a few hundred meters along the top of the dam.
There are great views either way. In front of the dam, you have a view along the river and across Nakhon Nayok province. Behind the dam is the reservoir. It is possible to take a boat trip a few kilometers along the reservoir to the stream that feeds it.
How to get There.
The Klong Tha Dan Dam is located at Ban Tha Dan, Tambon Hin Tang. From Nakon Nayok town, take route 3049 north towards Nang Rong Waterfall and the foothills of Khao Yai. 12km out of town the road forks and you need to take the right road. It is not long before you get sight of the huge dam. Drive on for another 6km and you reach the right hand turn, signposted towards the dam. When you reach the traffic circle with the elephant fountain in the middle, you can turn right to reach the base of the dam. Alternatively, turn left and climb the hill to the top of the dam.