Akosombo Dam
Akosombo Dam as seen from the Volta Hotel
Official name	Akosombo Dam
Impounds	Volta river
Creates	Volta Lake
Locale	Akosombo,Ghana
Maintained by	Volta River Authority
Length	2165.33ft (660m)
Height	374 ft (114m)
Width (at base)	1200.77ft (366m)
Construction began	1961
Opening date	1965
Construction Cost	£130 million
Reservoir information
Capacity	148 x 1012 litres
Catchment area	8502 sq.km
Geographical Data
Coordinates	6°17′59″N, 0°03′34″E

The Akosombo Dam is a hydroelectric dam in southeastern Ghana. The dam created the largest man-made lake in the world, known as Lake Volta. The dam provides electricity to Ghana and surrounding West African countries including Togo and Benin. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2816x2112, 1127 KB) akosombo dam I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... The Adome bridge crosses the Volta river south of the Akosombo Dam The Volta is a river in central and western Africa that drains into the Gulf of Guinea. ... Lake Volta (located at ) is the largest reservoir in the world (being larger than Lake Nasser), lying in Ghana and covering almost 8,502 km² (3,275 square miles). ... Akosombo is a town in Ghana. ... The Volta River Authority (VRA) is the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ... Lake Volta (located at ) is the largest reservoir in the world (being larger than Lake Nasser), lying in Ghana and covering almost 8,502 km² (3,275 square miles). ...

The dam is 660 metres wide and 114 metres high. It cost £130 million to build. It was built between 1961^[1] and 1965. Its development was undertaken by the Ghanaian government and funded in part by the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development World Bank, the United States and the United Kingdom.^[2] The idea for the dam originated in 1915 with the Geologist Albert Ernest Kitson but it was only in the 1940s that plans for the dam began to be drawn up. 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

In periods of drought, the water in Lake Volta is rationed and less electricity is generated. During these times, cities in Ghana are subjected to rolling blackouts to lessen their consumption of electricity. Ghana's Volta River Authority has contracts with neighbouring countries for electricity. These contracts are given higher priority than the customers in Ghana's own cities. Though Kaiser Aluminum is a major user, and the dam was constructed in part for the smelting of local bauxite, the economics have turned out such that raw materials have to be imported to keep the industry running. The Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) is another major user. Valco had said previously that they would use the local bauxite. When the dam was built, they instead imported the necessary material (alumina, what bauxite is made into) from Jamaica. A drought is a period of time when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban, human, or environmental water needs. ... Lake Volta (located at ) is the largest reservoir in the world (being larger than Lake Nasser), lying in Ghana and covering almost 8,502 km² (3,275 square miles). ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... Rolling blackout refers to an intentionally-engineered electrical power outage, caused by insufficient available resources to meet prevailing demand for electricity. ... Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ: KALU),was founded by American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, who entered the aluminum business in 1946 with the purchase of two government-owned aluminum facilities in Washington state. ... Volta Aluminum Company, known as Valco, is an aluminium company based in Ghana. ...

As a result of the larger companies taking the electricity for themselves and their industry, the people of Ghana have not actually benefited from the dam, which was its original purpose^{[citation needed]}. Many of the locals believe that the dam is a waste of money, especially as the country has to import the raw materials for use in the consumption of the electricity.^{[citation needed]}

It is estimated that if the money spent on the dam had been spent on infrastructure, every 50 people in the country would have been able to have their own well.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (86th in leap years). ...

External links

• Ghana Web - History of The Dam
• Volta River Project economics
• University of Ghana
• Wikimapia

Coordinates: 6°17′59″N, 0°03′34″E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...