AKOSOMBO DAM

rock-fill dam on the Volta River, near Akosombo, Ghana, completed in 1965 as part of the Volta River Project. Its construction was jointly financed by the government of Ghana, the World Bank, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The dam rises 440 feet (134 m) above ground level and has a crest 2,201 feet (671 m) wide and a volume of 10,451,000 cubic yards (7,991,000 cubic m). The dam impounds Lake Volta; this huge reservoir has a capacity of 124,000,000 acre-feet (153,000,000,000 cubic m) and is used for commercial fishing and navigation. The large electric-power-generating capacity (912 megawatts) of the Akosombo Dam meets Ghana's needs and provides a surplus for sale to neighbouring countries. The dam supplies electricity to a large, economically important aluminum smelter in the coastal town of Tema.