Hydropower in spotlight
Hydropower in spotlight

Hydropower in spotlight

Later this year, experts will gather in Windhoek to probe hydropower and water storage.
Yanna Smith
A major international conference on water storage and hydropower development will be held in Windhoek later this year.

The conference, which will see high-level international delegates gathering, will take place from 2 to 4 April at the Safari Court Hotel's conference centre.

The Namibian ministries of agriculture and energy, NamWater and NamPower will be participating, along with high-level utility representatives from other parts of the world.

According to a media statement, the event will be an ideal opportunity to promote Namibian and African expertise in the field of hydropower and water resources development.

Around 650 international delegates from about 50 countries are expected to attend and experts from all parts of the world will focus on issues of particular relevance to Africa, while technical, financial, environmental and social issues are also to be covered.

International delegates will have the opportunity to take a tour to the Naute, Oanab, Neckartal and Hardap dam projects. There will also be a post-conference study tour to the Ruacana project, with a visit to the Etosha National Park.

Conference discussions will focus on some of the large regional hydropower projects.

High on the agenda will be climate resilience, dam and power plant safety, project finance, research and development, maintenance and capacity building.

The Namibia's Ruacana hydro project and the planned Baynes project will also feature on the programme during the conference. The Baynes hydro project will be constructed about 185 km downstream from the Ruacana plant.

The Baynes project will have a total installed capacity of 600 MW, to be equally shared between Namibia and Angola. The Baynes Dam will be a concrete-faced rock fill dam with a height of 200 m and a total storage capacity of 2 570 million m3.

Other conference topics will include project preparation, the latest hydro equipment technology, challenging sites, cross-border collaboration, project rehabilitation, flood management, small hydro, environmental and social aspects, pumped storage, spillways, hydro in synergy with other renewables, sedimentation management and electrical engineering.

A major international technical exhibition with at least 80 stands and companies from 40 countries will run alongside the conference, showcasing innovation in the industry.

The conference, 'AFRICA 2019 Water Storage and Hydropower Development for Africa', is organised by Aqua-Media International. The event is being organised and hosted in partnership with the International Commission on Large Dams, and it has the support of the African Union, the International Energy Agency and the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage.

Teams from the World Bank, and the African Development Bank will be participating.

“After our previous successful African regional events in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2013 and Marrakech, Morocco in 2017, we are delighted to be bringing this multidisciplinary forum to southern Africa, where so many large-scale schemes are under way or moving ahead; for example in Angola, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania,” said director of Aqua-Media International, Alison Bartle.

According to Bartle, Namibia is an ideal base for the conference, with the Neckartal Dam recently complete, and the Baynes project being jointly planned with Angola.

“Constructive discussions will take place among more than 650 delegates from 50 countries, with the aim of furthering Africa's hydropower development. Unlocking more of the continent's vast potential is the key to poverty alleviation and rapid socio-economic development. Constructive dialogue among international experts can help turn policies into practice.”

ELLANIE SMIT

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-14

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Six Nations: Scotland 18 vs 32 Ireland | England 26 vs 25 France | Italy 22 vs 15 Wales Premier League: Everton 2 vs 2 Liverpool Katima Mulilo: 18° | 28° Rundu: 18° | 28° Eenhana: 18° | 27° Oshakati: 19° | 27° Ruacana: 18° | 27° Tsumeb: 18° | 25° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 24° Omaruru: 19° | 29° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Gobabis: 19° | 22° Henties Bay: 18° | 22° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:40, High tide: 04:44, Low Tide: 22:43, High tide: 16:54 Swakopmund: 17° | 18° Wind speed: 17km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:42, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:52 Walvis Bay: 18° | 21° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:41, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:51 Rehoboth: 21° | 30° Mariental: 24° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 26° | 37° Aranos: 21° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 39° Oranjemund: 15° | 23° Luanda: 26° | 29° Gaborone: 20° | 31° Lubumbashi: 17° | 21° Mbabane: 17° | 24° Maseru: 18° | 31° Antananarivo: 18° | 22° Lilongwe: 19° | 29° Maputo: 22° | 31° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Cape Town: 19° | 24° Durban: 21° | 24° Johannesburg: 18° | 30° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 17° | 19° Harare: 17° | 23° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.06 | EUR to NAD 19.25 | CNY to NAD 2.53 | USD to NAD 18.35 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.64 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.21 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 134.95 | USD to AOA 912 | USD to BWP 13.83 | USD to EGP 50.59 | USD to KES 129.22 | USD to NGN 1509 | USD to ZAR 18.36 | USD to ZMW 28.15 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 88717.13 Up +1.00% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1797.63 Up +0.36% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 16452.23 Up +0.33% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 29997.11 Up +1.13% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 10063.87 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 881.35/OZ DOWN -0.017 | Copper US$ 4.64/lb DOWN -0.0247 | Zinc US$ 2 857.30/T DOWN -0.07% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 75.06/BBP DOWN -0.008 | Platinum US$ 1 002.38/OZ DOWN -0.0352 Sport results: Six Nations: Scotland 18 vs 32 Ireland | England 26 vs 25 France | Italy 22 vs 15 Wales Premier League: Everton 2 vs 2 Liverpool Weather: Katima Mulilo: 18° | 28° Rundu: 18° | 28° Eenhana: 18° | 27° Oshakati: 19° | 27° Ruacana: 18° | 27° Tsumeb: 18° | 25° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 24° Omaruru: 19° | 29° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Gobabis: 19° | 22° Henties Bay: 18° | 22° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 10:40, High tide: 04:44, Low Tide: 22:43, High tide: 16:54 Swakopmund: 17° | 18° Wind speed: 17km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:42, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:52 Walvis Bay: 18° | 21° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: NW, Low tide: 10:38, High tide: 04:41, Low Tide: 22:41, High tide: 16:51 Rehoboth: 21° | 30° Mariental: 24° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 26° | 37° Aranos: 21° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 27° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 39° Oranjemund: 15° | 23° Luanda: 26° | 29° Gaborone: 20° | 31° Lubumbashi: 17° | 21° Mbabane: 17° | 24° Maseru: 18° | 31° Antananarivo: 18° | 22° Lilongwe: 19° | 29° Maputo: 22° | 31° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Cape Town: 19° | 24° Durban: 21° | 24° Johannesburg: 18° | 30° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 17° | 19° Harare: 17° | 23° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.06 | EUR to NAD 19.25 | CNY to NAD 2.53 | USD to NAD 18.35 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.64 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.21 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 134.95 | USD to AOA 912 | USD to BWP 13.83 | USD to EGP 50.59 | USD to KES 129.22 | USD to NGN 1509 | USD to ZAR 18.36 | USD to ZMW 28.15 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 88717.13 Up +1.00% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1797.63 Up +0.36% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 16452.23 Up +0.33% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 29997.11 Up +1.13% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 10063.87 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 881.35/OZ DOWN -0.017 | Copper US$ 4.64/lb DOWN -0.0247 | Zinc US$ 2 857.30/T DOWN -0.07% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 75.06/BBP DOWN -0.008 | Platinum US$ 1 002.38/OZ DOWN -0.0352