Rehabilitation of Gove Dam and construction of a new 60-MW hydroelectric plant is expected to begin before the end of the year on Angola’s Cunene River.
Angola Press said Huambo Province Energy and Water Director Adolfo Elias Gomes reported all necessary conditions have been fulfilled to begin construction, with start of work awaiting delivery of technical equipment from Luanda.
Gomes said Brazilian construction company Odebrecht received a contract for the project, which includes a powerhouse with three 20-MW turbine-generators, substations, and transmission lines to enable Gove to provide power to Huambo, Bie, and Benguela provinces.
Gove Dam was built in the 1970s, 120 kilometers south of Huambo, to regulate river flows downstream to 40-MW Matala and 249-MW Ruacana hydro projects and to Calueque Dam, an irrigation and water transfer facility. Its construction eventually was abandoned due to armed conflict that damaged the structure.
