[2020-03-04] Construction of dam on the border between Namibia and Angola begins in 2021

Source: Macauhub

The construction of the bi-national Baynes hydroelectric dam on the Cunene River between Angola and Namibia, will begin in 2021, and bilateral agreements have already been concluded, the Minister for Energy and Water said in the city of Moçâmedes on Tuesday.

João Baptista Borges, speaking at the end of a visit to Namibe province to look at power distribution in the region, said the agreement reached with Namibia would make it possible for a public tender to be launched to select the construction company, for the project, costing an estimated US$1.2 billion, to begin on the aforementioned date.

The construction will take about four years, with completion scheduled for 2025. “If we stick to the schedule of the agreement, we can comply with the deadlines, because there is a great interest in this bi-national project,” he said.

The Baynes hydroelectric facility will be made up of a riprap dam in concrete, and will be 200 metres high, 1,025 metres long, 40 kilometres of reservoir and a flooded area of 58.15 square kilometres.

The power plant will have an output of 600 megawatts, of which 300 will be for Angola and 300 for Namibia, under the terms of the agreement approved by the two governments in November 2014, within the framework of a feasibility study completed in 2013.