Boali is a town located in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Ombella-M'Poko Ombella-M'Poko is one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Bimbo. One important tourist attraction is the Falls of Baoli; however, due to the Baoli dam, the falls only carry water on the weekends. Geography The ...

. Boali is located on National Highway 1 (RN1), about 100 km northwest of the national capital,

Bangui Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...

. The road, one of the country's few paved highways, leads on to Bouar, and ultimately to

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. Situated on the

Mbali River Mbali may refer to * Mbali language, a minor Bantu language of Angola *Mbali Dhlamini, South African artist *Mbali Mpofu (born 1990), South African water polo player *Mbali Ntuli Mbali Ntuli (born ) is a South African politician and a former mem ...

, Boali is noted for its waterfalls and for the nearby

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

works. The Falls of Boali are 250 m wide and 50 m high, and are a popular

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

destination. The two units of the

Boali Hydroelectric Power Station Boali Hydroelectric Power Station is a hydroelectric power complex near Boali in the Central African Republic. The power complex comprises three units (a) Boali I (1 x 8.75MW) (b) Boali II (1 x 20MW) and (c) Boali III (1 x 10MW). As of Decemb ...

, Boali I and Boali II, are located below the falls. They have a combined generating power of 18.65 megawatts, and are operated by the state-run Central African Energy (ENERCA). The completion of Boali I in the 1950s spurred several other industrial developments in the town, including the country's first

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

, which began operating in 1954. The Boali hydroelectric works supply power to the capital and 13 other towns.

History

Initial arrangements were made in 2010 for a third hydroelectric plant, Boali 3, to be built with Chinese assistance.

Civil war

This strategic role was used by the Seleka rebels in March 2013, who took over the plant on their way to Bangui and shut off power to the city. On 17 January 2014 Séléka withdrew from Boali. 300 anti-Balaka fighters entered town killing four civilians On 5 December 2015 the city was recaptured by government forces. On 24 December 2020 rebels from Coalition of Patriots for Change attacked Boali. They were pushed back by government forces on 11 January 2021.

References

External links

ACP-EU Energy Report
{{Sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic Sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic Populated places in Ombella-M'Poko