La Barrancosa Dam

The Jorge Cepernic Dam, formerly known as La Barrancosa Dam, is a concrete-face rock-fill dam being built on the Santa Cruz River about 115 km (71 mi) west of Puerto Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It was renamed after the former governor of Santa Cruz Jorge Cepernic. A consortium led by China's Gezhouba Group was awarded the contract to build the Jorge Cepernic Dam and the Néstor Kirchner Dam upstream in August 2013. The consortium will also fund the construction. Both dams are expected to cost nearly US$4.8 billion.^[1] The dam is being built by Eling Ingeniería, the successor of Electroingeniería of Osvaldo Acosta and Gerardo Ferreyra.^[2] The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and its power station will have an installed capacity of 600 MW.^[3]

Jorge Cepernic Dam
Location of Jorge Cepernic Dam in Argentina
Country	Argentina
Location	Puerto Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Province
Coordinates	50°11′31.76″S 70°7′14.64″W
Purpose	Power
Status	Under construction
Construction began	July 2015
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment, concrete-face rock-fill
Impounds	Santa Cruz River
Height	43.5 m (143 ft)
Length	2,900 m (9,500 ft)
Dam volume	6,900,000 m3 (9,000,000 cu yd)
Reservoir
Total capacity	2,720,000,000 m3 (2,210,000 acre⋅ft)
Surface area	198 km2 (76 sq mi)
Hydraulic head	34.65 m (113.7 ft)
Turbines	5 x 120 MW Kaplan-type
Installed capacity	600 MW
Annual generation	1,866 GWh (estimate)

In July 2015 machines arrived in Santa Cruz for the construction of the dams.^[4]

In December 2023 construction was stopped awaiting funding from China.^[5]