Dams in Cameroon (RAZEL)
Owner: Cameroon Electricity Company (Energie Electrique du Cameroun) (ENELCAM), Project manager: EDF
This dam controls the flow of the Sanaga by means of a water reserve of 2.6 billion m³. It provides water at a constant rate to the Edéa hydro-electric power station which, in particular, supplies the country’s Aluminium smelter (ALUCAM) with electricity.
The water retention structures include a main arch-gravity dam consisting of a concrete structure resting on the bed of the river and measuring 240m in length and 24 metres in height, with a spillway and a river outlet and two lateral laterite dykes 770 metres and 470 metres in length. The dam’s pondage is enclosed by two additional dykes.
Important quantities: 170,000 m³ of excavated material, 650,000 m³ of fill, 400,000 tonnes of rockfill and granite aggregate excavated from below the bed of the rapids and transported a distance of 12 km to the dam on a specially constructed track, 60,000 m³ of concrete.
The Mopfou dam(1969)
An earth dam on the Mopfou river, 10 km from Yaoundé, built for the Cameroon National Water Company (Société Nationale des Eaux du Cameroun).
The purpose of this dam was to create a 5 million m³ water reserve in order to increase the city of Yaoundé’s water supply.
Crest length: 225 m, maximum height: 17,50 m. Volume of fill: 120,000 m³.
Complete forest clearance with grubbing of the reserve basin, i.e. a surface area of 105 hectares.
This retaining dyke on the River Noun creates a water reserve of 2 billion m³, and was built for the Cameroon Electricity Company (Société Nationale d’Electricité du Cameroun).
A dyke with a miximum height of 17.50 m and 200m long. The dam has a bypass structure consisting of a channel and a two sluice outlet Upstream of the bypass structure, a 20 metre bridge spans the channel.
Important quantities: 15,000 m² of forest clearance, 100,000m³ of earth moved, 45,000m³ of excavated rock, 30,000m³ of filters and rockfill, 8,500m³ of concrete, 2,500 metres of boreholes (aggregate depth).
Dam, spillway, power station and discharge channel.
Owner: Cameroon National Electricity Company (Société Nationale d’Electricité du Cameroun).
Chief contractor: SONEL.
Important quantities: 220,000m³ of concrete, 900,000m³ of excavated rock, 500,000m³ fill in the dykes. Maximum height of the structure: 35m, crest length: 1,200m. Annual flow: 2,100 m³/s. Water reserve: 1 billion m³. Maximum flow in spillway: 10 000 m³. Flow through powerstation: 640 m³/s. 4 hydro-electric generators with a total power of 195 MW. length of discharge channel: 1,100m.
Extension of the power station
10,000m³ of excavated loose earth, 190,000m³ of excavated rock, 13,000m³ of fill, 38,500m³ of concrete, 32,000m² formwork, 1,600 tonnes of steel, 26,000kg of rock anchors, 32 prestressed rock anchorage rods bearing 330 tonnes, 240 tonnes of structural steel.