Surveys for the Yamba Dam began in 1952. In September 2009, after a change of government, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Maehara Seiji said that work on the main structure would be halted.
On December 22, 2011, a meeting of the ministry’s political leaders decided to continue the project. The dam was completed in March 2020 and began operating in April 2020, 68 years after the surveys began.
The decision to stop was itself reversed. The project went on to completion.