Political interests and specialist lobby groups appear once again to have stalled plans to dam the Cunene River where it forms the border between Angola and Namibia. After years of negotiations, expensive feasibility studies and considerable political rhetoric, the proposed Epupa Dam is no closer to being constructed.
In April the Namibian government issued a briefing paper claiming the Russian Federation was interested in forming a joint venture for the construction of a power station on the Cunene River.
Two months later Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy Erkki Nghimtina was quoted in The Namibian as saying: “All [further] questions with regard to the Epupa project need no immediate consideration.”
Soon after Namibia and Angola opened negotiations in 1991 for the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Cunene River, a division arose over the location. Namibia preferred a site 4km downstream from the Epupa falls, while Angola made a case in favour of a site in the Baynes Hills, a further 40km downstream.
Feasibility studies have shown that both sites are viable for water storage and electricity generation.
Epupa would be more cost-effective, but more destructive to the environment. It would also affect a greater number of the Himba people, who live in the north-west of Namibia.