Sélingué Dam

Sélingué Dam

Local people on the shore of Lake Sélingué
Location of Sélingué Dam
Location Sikasso Region, Mali
Coordinates 11°37′0″N 8°14′0″W / 11.61667°N 8.23333°WCoordinates: 11°37′0″N 8°14′0″W / 11.61667°N 8.23333°W
Construction began 1979
Opening date 1982
Construction cost 140 million US dollars
Operator(s) Office of Rural Development of Sélingué
Dam and spillways
Impounds Sankarani River
Reservoir
Creates Lake Sélingué
Power station
Installed capacity 44 MW
Annual generation 200 million kWh

The Sélingué Dam is a hydroelectric and irrigation dam located in the Sikasso Region, on the Sankarani River, one of the affluents of the Niger River. It is an important center of energy production in Mali surpassed only by the Manantali Dam on the Bafing River.

Its construction, at the cost of 140 million US dollars, was financed by several backers.

The dam has a crest length of 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) and a height of 23 metres (75 ft).[1] With a power output of 44 MW, the dam has an energy output of 200 million kilowatt-hours per year. The dam provides Bamako, Kati, Koulikoro, Ségou, Fana, Dioïla, Yanfolila and Kalana with electricity. It was brought into service in 1982, and renovated between 1996 and 2001.

The retaining basin of the dam forms the artificial Lake Sélingué. The water level has a maximum height of 349 metres (1,145 ft) but varies throughout the year. When full the lake stores 2.2 cubic kilometres (0.53 cu mi) of water and has an area of 409 square kilometres (158 sq mi).[1] It allows agriculture on the irrigated perimeters, managed by the Office of Rural Development of Sélingué, as well as fishing.[2]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Zwarts, Cissé & Diallo 2005, pp. 23-26.
  2. Knaap 1994, Section 4.3 Sélingué Reservoir.

References

Further reading

External links