The Grand Poubara Dam is a

gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation to oppose the horizontal pressure of water pushing against it. ...

on the Ogooué River, about south of

Franceville Franceville is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of 110,568 at the 2013 census. It lies on the Mpassa River and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savor ...

in Gabon. The primary purpose of the dam is

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 ...

power generation, and it supports a power station.

History

The government of Gabon signed a $84 million loan with China in 2008 to finance the construction of the dam. The goal was to develop an alternative power source to the

Kongou Falls Chutes Kongou (also called the Koungou Falls) is a massive cataract about wide and up to tall, located in Ivindo National Park in eastern Gabon. It is located on the Ivindo River and is one of the strongest-flowing waterfalls in the world wit ...

Dam for the

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

extraction sites also operated by the Chinese in

Belinga Belinga is a location in Gabon with as yet unexploited iron ore deposits. These ore deposits extend into neighbouring Cameroon and Congo. Mining The Belinga iron reserves were discovered in 1895.Douglas A. Yates, "Gabon", in ''Africa Yearbook: ...

. Construction on the project began in November 2008, the river was diverted in November 2010, and the power station was commissioned on 5 August 2013. The dam diverts the river around the Poubara Falls where four

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The proces ...

-generators are powered. The majority of the dam and power station was funded by the Chinese government and the project was constructed by Sinohydro. Starting in 2015, the Grand Poubara Dam powers

Moanda Moanda is one of the largest towns in Gabon, lying on the N3 road in Haut Ogooué. It is also one of the most important manganese mining towns in the world, under the auspices of the ''Compagnie Minière de l'Ogooué'' (COMILOG), which began ...

's Metallurgical Complex, the country's first manganese-processing plant.Gabon engages in the local processing of manganese
''Miningreview.com'', 12 June 2015

References

Dams completed in 2013 Energy infrastructure completed in 2013 Dams in Gabon Gravity dams Hydroelectric power stations in Gabon Haut-Ogooué Province Roller-compacted concrete dams {{Gabon-struct-stub