The La Barrancosa Dam, formerly known as Jorge Cepernic Dam, is a
concrete-face rock-fill dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...
being built on the
Santa Cruz River about west of
in
Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
Santa Cruz Province ( es, Provincia de Santa Cruz, , 'Holy Cross') is a province of Argentina, located in the southern part of the country, in Patagonia. It borders Chubut Province to the north, and Chile to the west and south, with an Atlantic c ...
. It was renamed after the former governor of Santa Cruz
Jorge Cepernic
Jorge Cepernic (23 February 1915 – 18 July 2010) was an Argentine politician and Governor of Santa Cruz Province between 1973 and 1974.
In 1974, during Isabel Perón's term in office, he was removed from office.
Afterwards, he was given ...
. A consortium led by China's
Gezhouba Group
China Gezhouba Group Company Limited () is a Chinese construction and engineering company based in Wuhan, Hubei. As of 2014, the company is the 33rd largest contractor by revenue in the world. The major shareholder of the company (40.8%) is state ...
was awarded the contract to build the Jorge Cepernic Dam and the
Néstor Kirchner Dam upstream in August 2013. The consortium will also fund the construction. Both dams are expected to cost nearly US$4.8 billion. It will be built by the firm ''Electroingeniería'', led by Osvaldo Acosta and Gerardo Ferreyra. 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 its power station will have an installed capacity of 600 MW.
In July 2015 machines arrived in Santa Cruz for the construction of the dams.
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References
Dams in Argentina
Buildings and structures in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
Buildings and structures under construction in Argentina
Dams under construction
Concrete-face rock-fill dams
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