Alqueva Dam - Alentejo, Portugal
Posted by: 
tmob
N 38° 11.848 W 007° 29.791
29S E 631650 N 4228793
The Alqueva dam is a dam located on the Guadiana River in the Alentejo region. The reservoir is the largest in Portugal and Western Europe.
Waymark Code: WMATAR
Location: Beja, Portugal
Date Posted: 02/22/2011
Views: 12
«The complex project was made to produce hydroelectric power, irrigation for farms in the surrounding area, as well as a large reservoir where several tourist ventures are also being built. Alqueva, a village of about 350 inhabitants, gives the project the name. It is the site of the biggest ostrich farm in Portugal.
The Alentejo is the driest and hottest region in Portugal. Persistent droughts are a problem. The climate and a lack of infrastructure have impeded economic development and isolated the area from the national and European economies.
During the 1950s, the Portuguese Prime Minister, António de Oliveira Salazar, ordered a study of the feasibility of the dam project. The potential benefits of the Alqueva dam were discussed for decades. An initial effort was undertaken after the Carnation Revolution of 1974, but it was abandoned in 1978. The Portuguese government eventually made a firm decision to build the dam in the 1990s, during the Cavaco Silva and António Guterres governments.
Aldeia da Luz, a small village that lay in the projected flood zone of the dam, was completely rebuilt on a new site.»
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