BURKINA FASO: Samendeni hydroelectric dam officially operational in Bama
12 December 2019
Source: Afrik21
The Samendeni hydroelectric dam was inaugurated by the Burkinabe president at the end of November 2019. With an electricity production capacity of 2.6 MW, this dam is the third largest in Burkina Faso, after the Kompienga and Bagré dams. Its cost is estimated at more than 94 million euros.
“It’s a dream come true”, said Burkina Faso’s President, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, about the Samendeni dam he inaugurated on 30 November 2019 in the west of the country. The idea of building a dam in this community was first raised in 1976. It was not until 1996 that the first milestones were laid for this project, which will finally start to materialise in 2008. This infrastructure, with a total capacity of 1.05 billion m³, will produce 2.6 MW of electricity. In addition, the dam will encourage fishing activities in the community. In fact, since its impoundment in July 2017, this dam has already been filled with 38 species of fish. The structure was built in collaboration with the Saudi Fund for Development.
The Samendeni dam is built on the Mouhoun River, located in the Bama administrative department (upper basins region, 350 km from Ouagadougou). It is 23.9 m high and 2,900 m long. Its flooded area is 152 km2. It also has 21,000 hectares of irrigated perimeter. The overall cost of its implementation is estimated at CFAF 62 billion, or just over 94 million euros.
The works were launched in 2008 and ended in July 2017 with the materialisation of the dam’s impoundment by the Burkinabe minister in charge of Water and Energy. The establishment of this dam will strengthen food security by increasing cereal production in the country by nearly 3% and create at least 100,000 jobs. Indeed, this infrastructure provides for the annual production of 100,000 tonnes of rice, 150,000 tonnes of other cereals, 1,800 tonnes of meat, 150,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, etc. This dam will benefit at least 250,000 farmers and residents. A godsend for this community, which is experiencing extreme drought, aggravated by climate change.
The Samendeni Dam is an integral part of the Samendeni Valley Integrated Development Programme (PDIS), one of the most ambitious development projects initiated by the Burkinabe government. This programme is funded by the Burkinabe State and several donors. Some of them are the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Saudi Fund for Development (SDF), the West African Development Bank (BOAD), the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (ADB), the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (FKDEA), the OPEC Fund for Development (OFID), the ECOWAS Investment and Development Bank (EBID) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).