Massingir dam

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Massingir
Barragem de Massingir
Satellite image of the reservoir with the confluence of the Shingwedzi and Rio dos Elefantes
Satellite image of the reservoir with the confluence of the Shingwedzi and Rio dos Elefantes
Location: Massingir, district Massingir , Gaza province , Mozambique
Tributaries: Lepelle (Rio dos Elefantes, Olifants River)
Major cities nearby: Maputo, Pretoria, Johannesburg
Massingir (Mozambique)
Massingir
Coordinates 23 ° 53 '5 "  S , 32 ° 8' 40"  E Coordinates: 23 ° 53 '5 "  S , 32 ° 8' 40"  E
Data on the structure
Lock type: Earthfill dam
Construction time: 1972-2006
Height of the barrier structure : 48 m
Building volume: 10.435 million m³
Crown length: 4th 600  m
Data on the reservoir
Water surface 150 km²
Storage space 2880 million m³

The Massingir Dam ( Portuguese : Barragem de Massingir ; English : Massingir Dam ) is a dam on the Rio dos Elefantes (Olifants, Lepelle ) in the Gaza Province in Mozambique . It was named after the city of Massingir in the Massingir district. The barrier structure of the Massingir Dam is an earth embankment dam . It is 48 m high and 4600 m long.

The dam is owned by the Mozambique government and managed by the state water agency Administraçáo Regional De Águas Do Sul ( ARA-Sul ).

Building history

View of the overflow basin of the dam built in 2013/14

The plans for the Massingir dam were a project of the colonial economic program of Portugal for the development of the Limpopo valley . Construction work began in 1972 by the Portuguese company Tamega . Before the dam was completed in 1977, Mozambique gained independence and construction was halted. After the formal completion of the construction work, leaks were discovered, which made themselves felt as seepage water under the dam. It was feared the possibility of a dam burst , whereupon the water pressure on the dam was reduced. As a result, the building could not fully fulfill its intended purpose. This also delayed the construction of a 40 MW hydropower plant.

At the time when construction began on this dam, South Africa was negotiating with four countries in southern Africa, including representatives from Mozambique, on the establishment of a joint energy network, including the construction of large hydropower plants such as that of Cahora Bassa and the Cunene project in Angola . Cahora Bassa , like the Massingir dam, went into operation in 1977.

The following civil war prevented the FRELIMO government from solving the problems, the building site was occupied by RENAMO . After political reforms in Mozambique, restoration work began on the dam in 1988.

With a loan of US $ 60 million from the African Development Bank , the government finally succeeded in October 2006 in completing the dam and at the same time raising the dam. Shortly afterwards the drainage pipes broke and renewed renovation measures had to be taken to repair the damage.

In 2013, the China Hennan International Cooperation Group (CHICO) was awarded the contract to build an overflow that will relieve the reservoir by 7500 cubic meters per second.

Crocodile Canyon

The Massingir Dam is located in the Limpopo National Park . The area is an important area for the reproduction of the Nile crocodile . Because of this, there were concerns of the Kruger National Park administration regarding the flooding of the Olifants Gorge, because these areas could be destroyed. The dam is currently located in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park .

The higher dam causes sediments to accumulate in the 8 km long Crocodile Gorge. This gorge is inaccessible to tourists and is the world's largest breeding area for the Nile crocodile.

See also

Web links

Commons : Massingir Dam  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Chris Seddon: The cause of failure of the Massingir Dam Bottom Outlet Works: lessons to be learned for designers of reinforced concrete pressure conduits or penstocks . In: Civil Engineering = Siviele Ingenieurswese Vol. 18 (2010), Issue 6, pp. 30–32, 35-37 ISSN  1021-2000 (here abstract). on www.reference.sabinet.co.za (English)
  2. ↑ anonymous: AIM summary of official report . on www.open.ac.uk (English)
  3. ↑ a b anonymous: Mozambique again seeks outlet rehab at Massingir Dam . Announcement of April 26, 2011 at www.hydroworld.com (English)
  4. ^ SAIRR : A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1972 . Johannesburg 1973, p. 123
  5. ^ Ronald Meinardus: The Africa policy of the Republic of South Africa . Bonn 1981, p. 286
  6. ↑ Christina Folke Ax, Niels Brimnes, Niklas Thode Jensen & Karen Oslund, Cultivating the Colonies: Colonial States and Their Environmental Legacies , August 2011, ISBN 978-0896802827
  7. ↑ macauhub: Chinese company CHICO makes improvements to Massingir dam, in Mozambique . News from November 11, 2013 at www.macauhub.com.mo (English)
  8. ^ Massingir Dam & Flooding of Olifants Gorge