Dêralok is a river town in Duhok Governorate’s Amedi district. Local studies and project records provide a more concrete picture of its waterways, ecology and changing electricity infrastructure than a general description of mountain scenery.

Elevated view along a divided street in Deralok with cars, pedestrians, utility wires and closely spaced flat-roofed buildings
Dêralok on 1 January 2024, photographed by Emir Doski. The image records the town’s street and buildings at that date; it does not show the hydropower station. © Emir Doski · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0.

A town organized around the river

Dêralok, also written Deralok or Deraluk, is in Amedi district, Duhok Governorate, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Research on the hydropower site locates sampling stations on the Great Zab near the town. A separate University of Zakho study describes the river, locally called Zea, passing through the settlement. Rather than portraying it only as isolated highland scenery, these records place Dêralok within a working landscape of river crossings, urban activity and water management. [1] [2]

A dated study of water and town life

Najmaldin E. Hassan and Sagvan A. M. Ali’s 2016 paper reports sampling at seven river stations from November 2014 to June 2015. It considers temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and other physical and chemical measures, noting variation and the need for further monitoring. The study’s description also mentions shops, a hospital, banks and a vegetable-and-fish market along the studied river segment. This is a useful local snapshot. Its measurements and observations belong to that survey period and should not be silently republished as an assessment of conditions today. [2]

From an international loan to an operating plant

JICA’s appraisal records a loan agreement of 31 March 2010 for 16,996 million yen. The executing agency was the Kurdistan Regional Ministry of Electricity. The original plan described two 15 MW units, associated transmission works, consulting and staff training. ELC Electroconsult’s later project account gives an installed capacity of 37.6 MW, two 18.8 MW Kaplan turbines and a 132 kV transmission line, and lists the project as in operation. A Ministry of Electricity update dated 9 July 2026 lists Deralok at 38 MW. These figures describe planning and later reporting stages; the early 30 MW figure should not be confused with the later installed capacity. [3] [4] [5]

Fish and the river’s continuity

Firas Abdulmalek Mizory and Nasreen Mohialddin Abdulrahman surveyed the affected river reach between December 2013 and February 2015. They reported 82 specimens belonging to 11 species, including Garra rufa and Luciobarbus xanthopterus. Their paper explains why a weir can obstruct fish movement and discusses a fish pass included in the design. The survey is a baseline for asking ecological questions, rather than proof that every species remains equally abundant after construction. It gives the river’s living environment a place alongside the electricity project. [1]

Reading capacity, output and local benefit

Installed capacity is a plant’s rated generating potential; actual production varies with operating conditions and water availability. A station’s MW rating consequently does not establish a constant supply to every household. JICA’s original appraisal treated electricity provision, operation and maintenance training, and environmental monitoring as connected tasks. Keeping those distinctions visible makes the project history more useful: readers can ask about generation records, maintenance and river monitoring as well as the date or cost of construction. [3] [4]

The street photograph

Emir Doski’s January 2024 photograph shows traffic, pedestrians, utility lines and buildings along a divided street. It adds a dated view of the settlement itself to an article supported by studies of its river and power infrastructure. The visible street scene should not be used to invent a population count, date an unnamed historic quarter or claim that the hydropower works are pictured. [6]

Sources and further reading

  1. Firas Abdulmalek Mizory and Nasreen Mohialddin Abdulrahman, “Survey and Ichthyofauna of Great Zab River in Deralok Hydropower Plant,” Journal of University of Duhok 22/2, special issue (2019), pp. 69–79; online 2020; DOI 10.26682/cajuod.2020.22.2.8. Author-uploaded full text.
  2. Najmaldin E. Hassan and Sagvan A. M. Ali, “Screening and Analysis of Water Quality of Zea River in Kurdistan Region, Iraq,” International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences 3/8 (2016), pp. 61–67; DOI 10.21833/ijaas.2016.08.011.
  3. Japan International Cooperation Agency, Deralok Hydropower Plant Construction Project, ex-ante evaluation, loan agreement 31 March 2010: financing, original design, training and environmental monitoring.
  4. ELC Electroconsult, “Deralok Hydropower Project, 37.6 MW – Kurdistan, Iraq”: engineering specification, services and operating status.
  5. Kurdistan Regional Ministry of Electricity, update of 9 July 2026, listing Deralok Power Station at 38 MW.
  6. Emir Doski, “Deralok,” 1 January 2024; CC BY-SA 4.0 photograph, Wikimedia Commons.