Massingir Dam is a dam on the Rio dos Elefantes (Olifants or Lepelle),

Gaza Province Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75,709 km2 and a population of 1,422,460 (2017 census), which is the least populous of all the provinces of Mozambique. Xai-Xai is the capital of the province. Inhambane Province is t ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. It is named after the town of Massingir, in Massingir District. The

Shingwedzi River The Shingwedzi River (; ; ; ) is a river in Limpopo Province, South Africa, and Gaza Province, Mozambique. It is a left hand tributary of the Olifants River (Limpopo), Olifants River ''(Rio dos Elefantes)'' and the northernmost river of its catchm ...

flows close to the northeastern side of the reservoir and joins the Rio dos Elefantes about downstream from the dam wall.

History

By 1975, before the dam's completion, Mozambique gained independence and construction came to a halt. Shortly thereafter the

FRELIMO FRELIMO (; from , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It has governed the country since its independence from Portugal in 1975. Founded in 1962, FRELIMO began as a nationalist movement fighting for the self-determination ...

government restarted the project, but by the early 1980s economic decline and war time conditions halted further progress. A failure to maintain dam infrastructure or invest further in completion resulted in the Massingir dam not fulfilling its original purpose and full potential in the irrigation schemes of the Limpopo Valley downstream at Chokwe. During the period of post conflict reconstruction that followed conclusion to the civil war in 1994 a rehabilitation programme costing US$61m was undertaken, concluding in 2007. The dam now holds a reservoir with storage capacity of of water, making it the second largest in the country. Further works now in course involve construction of a new spill-way and installation of a hydro-electric power plant. The Massingir Dam is located within

Limpopo National Park The Limpopo National Park () was born when the status of Coutada 16 Wildlife Utilisation Area in Gaza Province, Mozambique, was changed from a hunting concession to a protected area. It forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park with the ...

, forming part of the

Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park is a 35,000 km2 peace park that is in the process of being formed. It will link the Limpopo National Park (formerly known as Coutada 16) in Mozambique, Kruger National Park in South Africa, Gonarezhou Natio ...

. The area is an important breeding ground for the

Nile Crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the eastern, southern, and ce ...

and there was concern at the

Kruger National Park Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are i ...

regarding the flooding of the Olifants River Gorge.Massingir Dam & Flooding of Olifants Gorge
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References

{{reflist

External links

Wikimapia - Massingir Dam
Dams completed in 2006 Dams in Mozambique Hydroelectric power stations in Mozambique Olifants River (Limpopo) Buildings and structures in Gaza Province

History

See also

References

External links