Arend Kolhoff
Senior Advisor Environmental and Social Assessment
The Government of Guinea is the initiator of a project known as the Fomi Dam located in the Niandan River in the upper basin of the Niger River. The main characteristics of the project are the construction of a rock filled dam with a maximum height of 48 meters at the maximum level of 396 meters resulting in a reservoir of approximately 5 billion m3 and the construction of a hydroelectric plant of 90 MW. The NCEA was asked by the Government of Guinea to advise on the draft Terms of Reference for the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment study. This advisory report was submitted on 20 December 2018.
Significant details
It is a multi-purpose project with the following hierarchy of objectives:
- Contribute to satisfying the Niger’s low water flow and thus ensure the essential needs of water supply and livestock watering;
- Guarantee the good ecological status of the water course;
- Develop irrigated agriculture, particularly in periods when water is a limit, particularly at the Office du Niger, in Mali;
- Develop fishing;
- Improve navigation conditions;
- Produce hydroelectricity, as a by-product of the earlier uses.