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Local people come to attend a
celebration as the Merowe Dame began to generate electricity, Merowe,
Sudan, Mar. 3, 2009. Merowe Dam, the longest of its kind on the world
famous Nile river in Sudan's Northern province, some 450 km north of the
capital city Khartoum. With a total span of 9.7 km and a maximum height of
67 meters, the Merowe Dam is a multipurpose project designed for power
supply and agricultural irrigation. It has a 1.24-billion-cubic-meter
reservoir that could help more than 4 million local residents living along
the Nile. The dam was built by a joint venture formed by China Water
Resources and Hydropower and China International Water and Electric Corp.
(Xinhua/Zhai Xi)
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MEROWE, Sudan, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on
Tuesday inaugurated Merowe Dam on the world famous Nile River in Sudan's
Northern province.
Located some 450 km north of the capital city Khartoum, Merowe Dam is the
longest dam in the world and the second largest dam on the Nile River after the
Aswan Dam in Egypt.
With a total span of 9.7 km and a maximum height of 67 meters, Merowe is a
multi-purpose project designed for power supply and agricultural irrigation. It
has a 1.24-billion-cubic-meter reservoir that could help more than 4 million
local residents living along the Nile.
Equipped with 10 generating units, Merowe Dam has a total installed
capacity of 1.25 million kilowatt, twice as much as Sudan's existing capacity.
Since May 20 2003, CCMD JV, a joint venture formed by China Water Resources
& Hydropower and China International Water & Electric Corp., has won
four major construction contracts worth 603 million euros (760 million U.S.
dollars) from Sudan Water Resource and Irrigation Ministry.
Meanwhile, the project is co-financed by four regional funds, namely the
Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Saudi Fund for Development,
Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.
The joint venture embarked on construction on July 8, 2003 and has so far
constructed 99 percent of the dam, whose two generators have been put into
operation on Feb. 23.
The CCMD JV employs a joint Chinese-Sudanese staff which once consisted of
2,638 Chinese and 2,836 Sudanese, many of whom are from the country's
impoverished Darfur region.
The Sudanese president has visited the dam three times since 2004 to
supervise the construction.
The project also involves a 1,776-km power line with seven transformer
substations, the most of which runs through the desolate northern Sudanese
desert.
Sudanese president inaugurates Merowe
Dam on Nile river
MEROWE, Sudan, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President
Omar al-Bashir on Tuesday inaugurated the Merowe Dam, the longest of its kind on
the world famous Nile river in Sudan's Northern province, some 450 km north of
the capital city Khartoum.
"In the name of the Sudanese people, I announce that
the dam begins generating now," Bashir, who came here earlier in the morning and
toured the dam with his entourage and heads of Chinese contractors. Full story
