The joint dam on the Cunene River basin that Angola and Namibia plan to build will cost US$1.37 billion and produce 600 megawatts of electricity, according to the findings of the feasibility study, published Monday in Luanda.
The future Baynes Hydroelectric Facility, which covers part of the Angolan province of Namibe (south), will be shared by the two countries in terms of electricity and 30 percent of the total investment required, and the remaining 70 percent will be secured through bank financing.
The document presented by the Permanent Joint Technical Commission between Angola and Namibia indicates that the dam will have a construction period of seven years, a height of 200 metres and a reservoir 40 miles long with capacity to store 2.56 billion cubic metres of water.
The investment of US$1.37 billion dollars, provided by the two countries, may be reduced if the private sector takes part in the project, as was acknowledged during the presentation of the study and recommendations.
Given the characteristics of the project, which was presented as an example of regional integration, the electricity generated may also be exported to other countries of the Community Development in Southern Africa, given the interconnection of energy networks in the region.
One of the innovative aspects of the dam project is that water will be taken from two different levels of the reservoir to feed the five turbines, in order to “regulate” the outlet temperature and it will have a minimum flow of 20 to 50 cubic metres per second.
Source: macauhub.com
