Merowe Dam

De Merowe Dam, wey dem sanso know am as Merowe High Dam, Merowe Multi-Purpose Hydro Project anaa Hamdab Dam, be a large dam wey dey near Merowe Town for northern Sudan insyd, about 350 kilometres (220 mi) north of de capital Khartoum. Ein dimensions dey make am de largest contemporary hydropower project for Africa insyd. Dem situate am for de river Nile top, close to den dey inundate de 4th Cataract wey de river dey divide into multiple smaller branches plus large islands in between. Merowe be a city about 40 kilometres (25 mi) downstream from de construction site at Hamdab. De main purpose give build de dam be de generation of electricity. Technical details De dam get a length of about den a crest height of up to 67 metres (220 ft). E dey consist of concrete-faced rockfill dams for each river bank top (de right bank dam be de largest part of de project, 4.3 km long den 53m high; de left bank be 1590 metres long den 50 metres high), an -long -high earth-core rockfill dam (de 'main dam') for de left river channel insyd, den a live water section for de right river channel insyd (sluices, spillway den a 300-metre power intake dam plus turbine housings). E dey contain a reservoir of 12.5 cubic kilometres (10,100,000 acre⋅ft), anaa about 15% of de Nile ein annual flow of 84 cubic kilometres (68,000,000 acre⋅ft); de intended reservoir level be 300 metres above sea level, plus de Nile level downstream of de dam wey dey be about 265 metres. Dem plan to extend de reservoir lake to 174 kilometres (108 mi) upstream. Powerhouse Dem equip de powerhouse plus ten 125 megawatts (168,000 hp) Francis turbines, dem design each one give a nominal discharge rate of 300 cubic metres per second, den each one dey drive a 150 MVA, 15 kV synchronous generator. De planners dey expect an annual electricity yield of 5.5 terawatt-hours (20 PJ), wey e correspond to an average load of 625 megawatts (838,000 hp), anaa 50% of de load dem rate. To utilize de extra generation capacity, dem go upgrade den extend de Sudanese power grid as part of de project, plus about 500 kilometres (310 mi) of new 500 kV aerial transmission line across de Bayudah Desert to Atbara, wey e continue to Omdurman/Khartoum, as well as about Atbara of 220 kV lines eastwards to Port Sudan den westwards along de Nile, wey dey connect to Merowe, Dabba den Dongola. Planning den construction De idea of a Nile dam at de 4th cataract be quite old. De authorities of de Anglo-Egyptian Sudan propose am several times during de first half of de 20th century. Dem suppose am to equalize de large annual Nile flow fluctuations, create de possibility of growing cotton den dey provide flood protection give de lower Nile valley. After Sudan achieve independence for 1956 insyd, Egypt decide to control de flow of Nile water dat reach ein own territory by building a dam den creating a reservoir —de Aswan Dam den Nasser Lake. De Sudan military government under Presido Nimeiri revive de plan for 1979 insyd, rydee plus de intention of producing hydroelectricity give Sudan ein rising demand. De following decade see international industry den planning offices busy, wey dey produce a total of four feasibility studies [1 - Coyne et Bellier, 1979 / Gibb, Merz & McLellan, GB, 1983 / Sweco, SE, 1984 / Monenco Consultants Ltd., CA, 1989]. Howeva, insufficient funding den lack of investor interest effectively stall de project at de planning stage. Dis dey appear to change fundamentally since de country start dey export oil for commercial quantities insyd for de years 1999/2000 insyd. A greatly improved creditworthiness bring an influx of foreign investment, den de contracts give de construction of wat dem rydee know am as de Merowe Dam project wey dem sign for de 2002 den 2003 insyd. De main contractors be: China International Water&Electric Corp., China National Water Resources den Hydropower Engineering Corp. (construction of dam, hydromechanical works) Lahmeyer International (Germany - planning, project management, civil engineering) Alstom (France - generators, turbines) Harbin Power Engineering Company, Jilin Province Transmission den Substation Project Company (both China - transmission system extension) By de time dem sign de contracts, de Merowe Dam already be de largest international project de Chinese industry eva participate am insyd. River diversion den work for de concrete dams top begin for early 2004 insyd. Dem close de left river channel for 30 December 2005 top; de project timeline wey dem scheduled de reservoir wey dey impound to start for mid-2006 insyd den de first generating unit to go on-line for mid-2007 insyd. Dem inaugurate de dam for March 3, 2009 top, at wey point de reservoir dey full den all de hydro-electric generating capacity on-line. Financing Dem report de total project cost to be $2.945 billion. Dem fi subdivide am into partial amounts give de construction work for de dam einself (ca. 45%), ein technical equipment (ca. 25%) den de necessary upgrade of de power transmission system (ca. 30%). De project dey receive funding from China Import Export Bank - USD 608 million Arab Fund give Economic den Social Development – USD 477 million Saudi Fund give Development – USD 215 million Abu Dhabi Fund give Development – USD 210 million Kuwait Fund give Arab Economic Development – USD 200 million Oman Fund give Development - USD 106 million State of Qatar - USD 15 million De cost wey dey remain – $ 1.114 billion – de Sudanese government cover am. Benefits De electrification level for Sudan insyd dey very low, even by de standards of de region. For 2002 insyd, de average Sudanese consume 58 kWh of electricity per year, i.e., about one fifteenth of demma Egyptian neighbors to de north, den less dan one hundredth of de OECD average. De capital Khartoum den a few large plantations dey account give more dan two thirds of de country ein electric power demand, while dem no connect most of de rural areas to de national grid. Many villages dey use de option of connecting small generators to de ubiquitous diesel-powered irrigation pumps. De way of generating electricity be rada inefficient den expensive. De combined grid-connected generating capacity for Sudan insyd 728 MW for 2002 insyd, about 45% hydroelectricity den 55% oil-fired thermal plants. Howeva, de effective capacity always already be a lot lower. De two main facilities, de Sennar (wey dem construct for 1925 insyd) den Roseires (1966) dams for de Blue Nile top, wey dem originally design am give irrigation purposes rada dan power production. Dem add generating units during de 1960s den 1970s wen de demand give electric power increase, but dem often heavily restrict power production by irrigation needs. De government for Khartoum insyd announce plans to raise de country ein electrification level from an estimated 30% to about 90% for de mid-term insyd. Large investments into de medium den low voltage distribution grids go dey necessary but no sufficient to reach dis ambitious goal: First den foremost, de foreseeable increase for power consumption insyd go require de addition of generating capacity. During de 1990s, Sudanese electricity customers have already plague by frequent blackouts den brownouts secof insufficient generation. Three new thermal power plants go into operation for de Khartoum area insyd for 2004 insyd, wey dey increase de installed capacity to 1315 MW. De Merowe dam plus ein peak output of 1250 MW go almost double dis capacity once e dey cam online. Human impact Resettlement den compensation Before de construction begin, an estimated 55,000 to 70,000 pippoe be resident for de area insyd wey de reservoir lake cover am, mainly dey belong to de Manasir, Hamadab den Amri tribes. Dem live for small farming villages insyd along de banks of de Nile den for de islands insyd for de cataract insyd. Dem relatively isolate de whole region ,without paved roads den oda infrastructure, den de communities dey largely self-sufficient. Except give beans den millet de farmers grow vegetables, both give demma own consumption den give trading at de weekly regional markets. Howeva, demma main source of income—den demma most valuable possession—be de groves of date palms wey dey grow for de fertile silt insyd for de river banks top. De inhabitants of de region to be flooded, dem forcibly displace am along a timeline wey dey correspond to demma land ein proximity to de dam site: de pippoe of Hamadab to Al-Multaga for 2003 insyd, de pippoe of Amri to Wadi Muqaddam for 2007 insyd, den de Manasir to Al-Mokabrab den Al-Fidah for 2008 insyd. At de resettlement sites, farmers receive plots of land relative for size insyd to demma former possessions, in addition to financial compensation give lost assets—houses den date palms. Howeva, a majority prefer to stay near to demma old grounds as possible den already thus build at de shores of de new lake. Many families already defy resettlement den dey live rydee for de margins of de lake top. Farmers already becam fishermen, but demma income dey less dan before. Though government officials dey claim der dey improved living conditions at de resettlement areas, plus relatively modern buildings den infrastructure, affected pippoe dey reject de compensation plans. Demma main objections be: De soil at de resettlement areas be sandy, den ein quality be extremely poor, wey dem compare to de excellent farmland beside de Nile. E go take much effort den a long time—probably decades—until e becam fertile enough give dey grow vegetables den oda marketable produce. De government announce dat e go provide free water, sand removal den fertilizer during de first two years after de resettlement. After dis period, de farmers go get to pay de full price give dem services, none of wey already dem go pay at de old site. Compensation give a date palm dey amount to about four years ein harvest, while a good palm tree fi bear fruit give a hundred years. Compensation give vegetable gardens dey very low, den only married men go receive compensation give demma houses. Dem resettle about 6,000 pippoe to de Al-Multaqah site for de Nubian desert insyd during 2003 den 2004. Demma villages be de closest to de dam construction site wey dey near Hamdab. According to a survey wey dem conduct am for early 2005 insyd, de poverty rate already increase dramatically sekof de farmers no dey able to produce anything saleable for de local markets insyd. Nomads A significant fraction of de Manasir tribe dey inhabit de desert regions close to de Nile valley. De exact size of dis nomadic population dey unknown, but dem estimate am to be of de same order of magnitude as dat of de resident farmers, i.e., tens of thousands. Both groups dey maintain tight cultural interchanges den trade relations plus each oda. Dem cover only de owners of real estate purportedly under de compensation scheme, although reports be say dem already displace families without compensation anaa adequate provisions give relocation. Nomadic families no go receive any compensation, even though de resettlement of de farming Manasir go deprive dem of demma symbiotic partners. De consequences give demma ability to sustain demma lives for a harsh environment insyd dey remain to be assessed. Human rights concerns UN Special Rapporteur for Adequate Housing top Miloon Kothari issue a statement August 27,[2007], wey e bell give a halt to dam construction at Merowe until an independent assessment of de dam ein impacts for de more dan 60,000 pippoe wey stand to be displaced by de dams at Merowe den Kajbar. Kothari state he already "received reports dat de Merowe reservoir ein water levels already rise, wey e destroy dozens of homes for de area den dey put many more at risk." Kothari announce, "De affected pippoe already claim dat dem receive no warning dat dem go fi raise water levels den dat no assistance from Government authorities already be forthcoming since dem already destroy demma houses." According to reports, de Government of Sudan no honor ein promises to dem pippoe wey dem displace. Kothari note am dat, "dem recolate thousands of pippoe for de same area insyd for similar circumstances insyd dat lef many temporarily without food anaa shelter, den dat of dem pippoe dey remain homeless today." Dem bell Kothari upon de Sudanese government to ensure safety den adequate housing to all dem pippoe wey de dam affect am den warn de projects "go lead to large-scale forced evictions den further violence." Archaeology De fertile Nile valley already dey attract human settlement give thousands of years. De section between de 4th den 5th cataract—a significant portion of wey dem go inundate am by de reservoir lake—already dey densely populated thru nearly all periods of (pre)history, but very little archaeological work dem eva conduct am for dis particular region insyd. Recent surveys confirm de richness den diversity of traceable remains, from de Stone Age to de Islamic period. Several foreign institutions recently anaa dem currently involve am for salvage archaeology insyd for de region insyd under de umbrella Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage Project (MDASP). Among dem be ACACIA project University of Cologne, Gdańsk Archaeological Museum Expedition (GAME), Polish Academy of Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, de Italian Institute give Africa den de Orient (IsIAO), de University College London, de Sudan Archaeological Research Society, de Hungarian Meroe Foundation, University of California at Santa Barbara - Arizona State University consortium, den de Oriental Institute Museum of de University of Chicago. Demma main problems be de shortness of de remaining time den limited funding. Unlike de large UNESCO campaign wey dem conduct for Egypt insyd before de completion of de Aswan High Dam, wen dem fi document more dan a thousand archaeological sites den dem move complete buildings to prevent dem from drowning for Lake Nasser ein floods insyd, dem much moe restrict work at de 4th cataract. Since 2006, de archaeologists wey dey work give de Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage Project becam accused by environmental den human rights activists as well as de representatives of de affected pippoe of facilitating de political legitimatization of de project. De archaeologists wey dey work give de dam project find demselves for an ethical dilemma insyd since dem dey undertake salvage excavations while de local pippoe dey for opposition insyd to de building of de dam dat dey necessitate both demma resettlement den de archaeological campaign. Historian Runoko Rashidi issue a statement for solidarity insyd plus Sudanese Nubians wey dey protest de dams den dem bell am give a halt to demma construction.We never forget de terrible tragedy wey e result from de Aswan High Dam for Egyptian Nubia insyd. De project for Sudanese Nubia insyd, wey we bell am de "damn dams", go perpetuate yet anoda tragedy, anoda atrocity, against African pippoe. Nubia be a treasure-house of artifacts dat dey attest to de ancient greatness of Africa. For dem to inundate am go cause irreparable harm to a noble heritage. We for organize to resist dis project. One of de great figures among Africans in America, Frederick Douglass, say dat "power dey concede nothing without demand. E never do, den e never go do." Political impact International Dem fix usage rights to de waters of de Nile for de Nile Waters Treaty insyd, wey dem negotiate am by de British for 1959 insyd. E dey allot 82 percent of de water volume to Egypt, while dem grant Sudan de rights to de remaining 18 percent. None of de riparian countries further upstream for de Nile basin insyd—Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya den Tanzania—dem entitle am to any significant use of de water, be e give irrigation (of particular interest to Ethiopia den Kenya) anaa hydropower (Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda). As Sudan rydee dey push forward to make use of ein water allotment, dem countries begin to bell give a revision of de treaty, wey e argue say—plus de exception of Ethiopia—dem all already dey under colonial rule at de time de negotiations take place, den dem no already represent am for demma best interest insyd. Moreova, dem make de decision of distribution of water without any negotiations plus Ethiopia, wey reject de agreement den e be de source of 90% of de water den 96% of transported sediment of de Nile. Domestic While a peace treaty dey appear to already stop de fighting for Southern Sudan insyd after almost 20 years, der be no end for sight insyd yet give de civil war for Darfur insyd. More recently, unrest for Nubia insyd as a direct result of de dams den de forced permanent displacement of Nubians from demma homelands dey threaten to erupt into war. A group wey dey bell einself de Nubian Liberation Front dey threaten armed resistance in order to thwart de series of dams along de Nile, den particularly at Kajbar. During de Sudanese civil war (2023–present) for 13 January 2025 top, dem damage de dam ein power station RSF drones, wey e cause a fire at de facility den dey damage a key transformer. De attack sanso cause power outages as far as Shendi, Port Sudan, Atbara den Omdurman. Environmental impact Health De resettlement area be a vast area plus an expected 50,000–70,000 inhabitants wey go be be going thru a transitional period give a few years before de get acclimatised den dem psychologically adapt to demma new life. Governing by de two eminent health impact experiences of New Halfa resettlement projects den Aswan Dam for Egypt insyd, strategic health planning suppose go start early to foresee wat water born diseases den oda ecological health problems (such as bilharziasis, malaria) dey likely to prevail den to plan how to guard against dat. Evaporation De creation of de reservoir lake go increase de surface area of de Nile by about 700 km2. Under de climatic conditions at de site, dem fi expect additional evaporation losses of up to 1,500,000,000 m3 per year. Dis dey correspond to about 8% of de total amount of water wey dem allocate to Sudan for de Nile Waters Treaty insyd. References External links Official website International Rivers' critique of project Photos of Merowe dam