| Bumbuna Dam | |
| Location Map: | Sierra Leone |
| Coordinates: | 9.0715°N -11.7229°W |
| Country: | Sierra Leone |
| Location: | Bumbuna |
| Purpose: | Power |
| Status: | O |
| Construction Began: | 1979 |
| Opening: | 2009 |
| Cost: | US$327 million |
| Dam Type: | Embankment, concrete-face rock-fill |
| Dam Crosses: | Seli River |
| Dam Length: | 440m (1,440feet) |
| Dam Height: | 88m (289feet) |
| Spillway Type: | Bell-mouth |
| Res Capacity Total: | 445e6m3 |
| Res Catchment: | 3920km2 |
| Res Surface: | 21km2 |
| Plant Commission: | 2009 |
| Plant Turbines: | 2 x 25MW Francis-type |
| Plant Capacity: | 50MW |
| Website: | https://web.archive.org/web/20140221061321/http://www.bumbuna.sl/ |
The Bumbuna Dam is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Seli River near Bumbuna in Tonkolili District, Sierra Leone,[1] and from the capital of Freetown, the main consumer.[2] The country's first hydroelectric dam, it supports a 50MW power station.[1]
The site for the dam at Bumbuna Falls was first identified in 1971, and construction was begun in 1975. Work was halted in May 1997, about 85% completed, due to the Sierra Leone Civil War, and did not restart until 2005.[3] The project was completed and went online in 2009.[4] Nearly a third of the dam's US$327 million cost ($103 million) was supplied by the African Development Bank.[5] A 26 January 2005 report noted that 33 villages would be affected by the dam, although only one (of 16 households and 135 people) would require resettlement.[6]
The dam has a maximum height of, a length of at the crest and a volume of .[2] The volume of the reservoir created is,[2] [1] or .[3] There are two Francis turbines, each rated for .[5]
After completion, the project has been plagued with problems, and barely produces [7] or [8] as of 2013.
A second phase is planned, for a 110MW power station.[9] [10] In June 2011, the government announced it had awarded the $750 million Phase II project to Joule Africa, a UK-based company.[8] This will entail a second dam and plant.[8] Construction was set to begin in 2014 and continue on until at least 2017.[8]