Cabora Bassa Dam

Cabora Bassa Dam, dam on the Zambezi River, in Tete Province, Mozambique. The dam, 303 m (995 ft) wide at the crest and 171 m (560 ft) high, impounds a lake 240 km (150 mi) in length. With an installed capacity of 2,075 megawatts and a planned capacity of 4,000 megawatts, it is Africa’s largest hydroelectric project. The Portuguese colonial government began construction in 1969, despite strong opposition from the Mozambique Liberation Front, Frelimo. Portugal hoped, in vain, that Cabora Bassa would perpetuate its rule in Mozambique by providing hydroelectricity both for local industrial development and for export to South Africa, and water for a proposed irrigation project covering 1.5 million ha (5,800 sq mi).

Export of hydroelectricity to South Africa began in 1977, two years after Portugal’s defeat and Frelimo’s accession to power. The new government’s plans to use Cabora Bassa to stimulate national development were frustrated by the 1977-1993 insurrection of the South African-supported Mozambique National Resistance, RENAMO. By 1983, RENAMO’s widespread sabotage of transmission lines had effectively halted the supply of hydroelectricity for both domestic use and export.

Rehabilitation of the 900-km (560-mi) transmission line to South Africa, begun in 1993, led to a resumption of power exports, and full power transmission capacity was restored in 1998. By agreement, ownership of Cabora Bassa is being transferred gradually from Portugal to Mozambique.