We have the special honor and privilege to inform you that from 09th April to 11th April 2025, at Inter Expo Center in Sofia, Bulgaria, the 17th ICOLD International Benchmark Workshop on Numerical Analysis of Dams was held.

The organizer of this high-tech event is traditionally Technical Committee A "Computational Aspects of Analysis and Design of Dams" at the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD). This year, the host of the Benchmark Workshop was the Bulgarian National Committee on Large Dams (BUNCOLD) – the representative of our country in ICOLD.

This extremely prestigious event in the field of dams was attended by 36 prominent scientists, PhD students, researchers, leading engineers and experts from all over the world, who delivered reports on predetermined topics and participated in the subsequent discussions. On 12th April 2025, a technical visit to the Tsankov Kamak dam was organized for the participants, where the hosts from the Enterprise “Dams and Cascades” of NEK EAD introduced the facilities of the dam and hydroelectric power plant to the guests.

Given the growing strategic role of dams in Bulgaria and especially in the context of adverse climate change, the holding of this Benchmark Workshop clearly represents the support and recognition for our country and the contribution of Bulgarian experts to the research, design, construction and operation of dams and the rational use of water resources in our country

We, from the Bulgarian National Committee on Large Dams, in our capacity as host and co-organizer of the event, express our sincere gratitude to the Natsionalna elektricheska kompania EAD, Asarel Medet AD, ISTA Andreeva OOD, Napoitelni sistemi EAD, Hydrogeokomplekt EOOD and VJF Engineering EOOD, who, in their capacity as donors and sponsors, supported this event and made a significant contribution to its implementation.