For many years, negotiations between Turkey and Syria over the Orontes or Asi River were linked to issues concerning the Euphrates and Tigris rivers shared between Turkey, Syria and Iraq, and progress of the former was dependent on progress of the latter

Turkey-Syria Relations were affected throughout the Cold War era and into the 1990s. The water issue became a foreign relations matter once again when both countries began using the waters of the Euphrates-Tigris basin in the 1960s and building irrigation and energy-related projects.

The foundation stone of the dam was laid on 6 February 2011. On completion, the dam is expected to be 22.50 m high, with a capacity of 110MCM. Of that, 40MCM will be used for flood prevention and the rest for energy production, and irrigation (around 9,000 hectares of agricultural land).