Cambambe Dam

Cambambe Dam
Location: Cuanza Norte District, Angola Tributaries: Cuanza Drain: Cuanza Major cities nearby: Dondo
Angola
Coordinates	9 ° 45 ′ 0 ″  S , 14 ° 29 ′ 0 ″  E Coordinates: 9 ° 45 ′ 0 ″  S , 14 ° 29 ′ 0 ″  E
Data on the structure
Construction time:	1958 - June 2017
Height of the barrier structure :	132 m
Building volume:	0.24 million m³
Crown length:	300 m
Power plant output:	960 MW
Data on the reservoir
Water surface	6 km²

The Cambambe Dam ( Portuguese Barragem de Cambambe ) dams the Cuanza River near Dondo in the Angolan district of Cuanza Norte . It supplies the Angolan capital Luanda, 177 km away, with electricity and irrigates the Cuanza valley further below. The structure is an arched gravity dam . The capacity is 960 MW. It is one of the largest hydroelectric power stations in Angola.

history

Construction began in 1958, operations began in 1962 and the inauguration took place on October 6, 1963 by the then Portuguese President Américo Tomás . The project was privately financed to provide electricity to a planned aluminum factory. However, this plan did not materialize. Only in 1972 were two more generators installed, which increased the capacity to 180 MW. The completion of the construction was initially planned for 1975, then for 1982, but the political situation and the civil war prevented further construction. The dam remained unchanged for decades - the capacity had halved to 90 MW due to lack of maintenance - when the government decided in 2007 to increase the dam wall by 32 m with an investment of 1.2 million euros and to increase the capacity of the hydropower plant in three phases 960 MW to increase. In the first phase, which began in 2009, the four generators were rehabilitated and the output was initially increased to 180 MW and in 2016 to 260 MW. Then the dam was increased to 130 m, as originally planned by the Portuguese. In the third phase, a second power plant with four additional generators was installed in 2011, which together generate 700 MW.

Special incidents

In April 2018, an elephant was shot and killed by the police after staying in the vicinity of the hydropower plant for four days. He had endangered the electrical systems. The governor of the province of Cuanza Norte, José Maria Ferraz dos Santos, went to the site to assess the situation and gave the decision to shoot the animal, which has aroused great criticism from some citizens and animal welfare organizations. The animal was then cut up and its meat, bones and ivory distributed among the police officers.

See also

• List of the largest reservoirs on earth
• List of the largest dams on earth
• List of the largest hydroelectric plants in the world
• List of power plants in Angola
• List of dams in the world (Angola)

Web links

• Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Angola's ENE looks to reform and development

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Barragem iniciada em Angola no tempo colonial fica concluída em Dezembro noticias.sapo.ao , November 4, 2016, accessed on July 17, 2019
2. ↑ Cuanza Norte: Barragem de Cambambe aumenta produção para 960 megawatts angop.ao , June 29, 2017, accessed on July 17, 2019
3. ↑ Inaugurada 2ª Central da Barragem de Cambambe angop.ao , June 29, 2017, accessed on July 17, 2019
4. ↑ Elefante é morto e esquartejado por autoridades policiais da Barragem de Cambambe vivenciaspressnews.com , April 25, 2018, accessed on July 17, 2019