The Fomi Multi-purpose Dam is a proposed water-storage and hydropower project in Guinea within the Niger River Basin. It is intended to support river regulation, irrigation, fisheries, navigation and electricity generation for Guinea and downstream basin countries. Current continental project material continues to place the project at feasibility stage rather than construction or financial close.
<p>Construction of a dam and hydroelectric plant of 90 MW on the Niandan River in Guinea with a reservoir of about 5 billion m3 of water.</p>
<p>The project has two components, namely:<br />
- Strengthen the institutional and financial capacity of the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) to sustainably fulfill its basic mandate; and<br />
- Facilitate evidence-based decision-making in the process of preparing Fomi's multipurpose dams and in parallel strengthening of ABN's capabilities through its direct involvement in this complex project.</p>
<p>The Fomi Dam initiative has been continued in two related projects:<br />
First, an APL-1 project on water resources development and sustainable ecosystem management (WRD SEM) funded by the World Bank (P093806) and secondly, the Niger River Basin Management Project. It is unclear if the APL-1 project is still active through a follow-up phase which might likely be named APL-2.<br />
The Niger River Basin Management Project was approved for CIWA funding in November 2014 and aims to strengthen the NBA's capacity to prepare for Fomi in two phases, namely:<br />
a) facilitate dialogue between stakeholders in Guinea, Mali and the NBA to develop a roadmap on how to proceed with the preparation of the Fomi dam project; and<br />
b) Complementary studies to the main preparatory studies supported by WRD SEM (APL-1).</p>
<p>The project's development objective is to strengthen the institutional framework for regional cooperation in water resources in the Niger River Basin.</p>
<p>The general objectives assigned to the development of the Fomi multi-purpose dam as part of the Shared Vision and the Sustainable Development Action Plan (SVSDAP) are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Regularisation of the Niger River regime;</li>
</ul>
<p>The reservoir created by the Fomi dam of around 5 billion m3 is expected to play a major role in restoring the ecosystem in the Niger basin. Thus, because of its high capacity to regulate the river regime that will pass in March-June from 3m3 / s to 103 m3 / s at the foot of the dam to stabilize at 70m3 / s at the start of the Inner Niger Delta (IND) in Mali.</p>
<ul>
<li>Development of agriculture through irrigation of agricultural plains;</li>
</ul>
<p>It is planned the development of a master plan of hydroagricultural development on:</p>
<ol>
<li>The development of 100,000 ha from Lower Niandan to Banankoro on the border between Guinea and Mali;</li>
<li>The development of 200 000 ha of off-season crops is also planned in the Uffizi areas in Mali;</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>Production of low cost hydroelectricity</li>
</ul>
<p>The annual average yield of Fomi's hydropower plant is estimated at 374 Gwh, for an installed capacity of 90 MW, and is the major node of WAPP's interconnection of power grids.</p>
<ul>
<li>Development of river navigation and ecotourism.</li>
</ul>
<p>The regularisation of the Niger river regime through the release of planned flows, will ensure the river navigation over a period of 8 of 12 months.</p>
<ul>
<li>Development of fishing and fish farming</li>
</ul>
<p>With an area of ??about 500 km2, river fishing combined with fish farming will allow a catch of 3500 tons per year of fish with a permanent job of 1700 professionals and 1300 people in agro-fishermen.</p>