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The Bui Dam is a hydroelectric project in Ghana. It is built on the Black Volta river at the Bui Gorge, at the southern end of Bui National Park. The project is a collaboration between the government of Ghana and Sino Hydro, a Chinese construction company. Construction on the main dam began in December 2009. Its first generator was commissioned on May 3, 2013,〔http://www.modernghana.com/news/462096/1/president-mahama-inaugurates-the-bui-hydro-electri.html ''President Mahama Inaugurates the Bui Hydroelectricity Project '' retrieved 2013 June 5〕 and the dam was inaugurated in December of the same year. Bui will be the second largest hydroelectric generating plant in the country after the Akosombo Dam. The reservoir flooded about 20% of the Bui National Park and impacts the habitats for the rare black hippopotamus as well as a large number of wildlife species. It required the resettlement of 1,216 people,〔 and affected many more. == History == The Bui hydro-electric dam had first been envisaged in 1925 by the British-Australian geologist and naturalist Albert Ernest Kitson when he visited the Bui Gorge. The dam had been on the drawing board since the 1960s, when Ghana’s largest dam, the Akosombo Dam, was built further downstream on the Volta River. By 1978 planning for the Bui Dam was advanced with support from Australia and the World Bank. However, four military coups stalled the plans. At the time Ghana began to be plagued by energy rationing, which has persisted since then. In 1992, the project was revived and a first feasibility study was conducted by the French firm Coyne et Bellier.〔Oliver Hensengerth:(Interaction of Chinese Institutions with Host Governments in Dam Construction:The Bui dam in Ghana ), German Development Institute, Discussion Paper 3/2011, p. 9-13, retrieved on May 7, 2011 (full version not available on-line)〕 In 1997 a team of students from Aberdeen University carried out ecological investigations in the area to be flooded by the reservoir.〔 The Ghanaian environmental journalist Mike Anane,〔Global 500 Forum:(Adult Award Winner in 1998: Mike Anane ), retrieved on May 9, 2011〕 who was included in UNEP’s Global 500 Roll of Honour for 1998, called the dam an "environmental disaster" and a "text book example of wasted taxpayer money". In his article he quoted the investigation team, but apparently somewhat exaggerated the environmental impact of the dam. The leader of the investigation team, the zoologist Daniel Bennett, clarified that "the opinions (Anane) attributes to our team are unfair and misleading". He continued to say that "Contrary to Mr Anane's claims, we are unaware of any globally endangered species in Bui National Park, nor did we claim that the dam would destroy the spawning runs of fish."〔Daniel Bennett, Aberdeen University Black Volta Project, (letter to newspaper editor re. articles about Bui Dam ), 8 November 1999, retrieved on May 9, 2011〕 Although Daniel Bennett always maintained a neutral stance towards the construction of the dam, in April 2001 the government of Ghana banned him from doing further research on the ecology of the Bui National Park. The government stated that the issue was "very sensitive" and Bennett's "presence in the National Park was no longer in the national interest". One of the journalist who criticized the government for banning Bennett was Mike Anane. In 1999 the Volta River Authority, the country’s power utility, signed an agreement with the US firms Halliburton and Brown and Root to build the dam without issuing a competitive bid.〔 In December 2000 President Jerry Rawlings, who had ruled the country for the two previous decades, did not contest in elections (as per the constitution) and his party lost to the opposition led by John Kufuor. In October 2001 the new government shelved the dam project. According to Charles Wereko-Brobby, then President of the Volta River Authority, Bui Dam was not considered the least–cost option and could not meet "immediate" energy needs. Instead gas-powered thermal power plants were to be built, producing electricity at what was said to be half the cost of Bui. Furthermore, a severe drought in 1998 exacerbated the energy crisis due to low water levels in Akosombo Dam. As a consequence, the government wanted to reduce its dependence on hydropower at the time.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/africa/africa-other-projects )〕 However, in 2002 the project was revived. An international call for tender was issued, but only a single company submitted a bid and the tender was cancelled. In 2005 the Chinese company Sinohydro submitted an unsolicited bid for the dam together with funding from the Chinese Exim Bank. The government accepted the bid and the Ministry of Energy signed contracts for an environmental impact assessment in December 2005, as well as for an updated feasibility study in October 2007. The government created the Bui Power Authority in August 2007 to oversee the construction and operation of the project and the associated resettlement. Responsibility for the dam was thus transferred from the Volta River Authority, which until then had been responsible for the development and operation of all power projects in Ghana.〔 Coyne et Bellier is the consulting engineer for the dam.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.buipowerauthority.com/project_participants.htm )〕 Field investigations for the dam began in October 2007. In January 2008 preparatory construction began and in May 2008 the first people were resettled. In December 2008 the river was diverted and a year later construction on the main part of the dam began. The filling of the reservoir began in June 2011.〔Bui Power Authority:(Project Milestones and Completion Schedule ), Retrieved on May 7, 2011〕 Unit 3 was connected to the grid on May 3, 2013; Units 2 and 1 were commissioned by the end of November 2013.〔 The dam and power station were inaugurated in December 2013 by President John Mahama.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bui Dam」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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