Country Kenya Status Operational Construction began 1975 | Purpose Power Type of dam Embankment Impound Tana River | |
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Location Embu County/Machakos County Opening date 1978; 39 years ago (1978) Owner Kenya Electricity Generating Company | ||
The Gitaru Hydroelectric Power Station, also known as the Gitaru Dam, is a rock and earth-filled embankment dam on the Tana River in Kenya. It straddles the border between Embu and Machakos Counties in the Eastern Province. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation, and it supports a 225 megawatt power station. Construction on the dam began in 1975 and was completed in 1978. The power station was not commissioned until 1999. US$63 million in funding for the project was provided by the World Bank. The station is operated by the Kenya Electricity Generating Company and is part of the Seven Forks Scheme.
Map of Gitaru Dam, Kenya
The 30 m (98 ft) tall dam withholds a 16,000,000 m3 (13,000 acre·ft) reservoir. The relatively small reservoir relies on steady releases from the Masinga and Kamburu Dams upstream. The run-of-the-river power station is located underground near the left abutment. It contains two 72 megawatt and one 81 megawatt Francis turbine-generators. Water released from the station is returned to the Tana at the Kindaruma Reservoir via a 4.7 km (2.9 mi) long tailrace tunnel. The difference in elevation between the reservoir and power station affords a net hydraulic head of 136 m (446 ft).