ABSTRACT
This chapter begins the analysis with a focus on technical, financial and economic performance. The evidence and findings indicates considerable scope for improving the selection of projects and the operation of existing dams, even prior to consideration of the social and environmental impacts. The performance of large dams in terms of achieving technical, financial, and economic targets is marked by a high degree of variability, with a considerable portion of dams failing to deliver on their overall objectives and many falling short of specific targets. The analysis presented here draws on several independent samples of the experience with large dams, oriented along different axes and supplemented by Commissioners' personal experiences. Cost performance data in the WCD Knowledge Base suggest that large dam projects often incur substantial capital cost overruns. Crop yields and the gross value of production from large irrigation dams in the WCD Knowledge Base have often varied significantly from those predicted at the outset of the projects.
