Kandadji Dam

The Kandadji dam when completed, will be a large multipurpose dam on the Niger River. The site is situated near the small town of Kandadji, Tillabéri Department, Tillabéri Region, Niger, 180 km northwest of the capital Niamey. Construction of the dam was begun in August 2008. It is being built by the Haut Commissariat à l'Aménagement de la Vallée du Niger (High Commission for Niger Valley), a public body under the Primer Minister's Office. The dam will generate hydropower and is aimed at controlling the flow of the Niger River, holding water during the dry season to maintain a minimum flow and making downstream irrigation possible. The project is formally named the Kandadji Programme for Ecosystem Regeneration and Niger River Development (Programme Kandadji de Régénération des Ecosystèmes et de Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Niger). The dam itself was expected to be completed in 2013 as of 2008 and as of September 2015 in 2012.

The project is a very high profile project for Niger. According to the Prime Minister at the time of initiating construction, Seyni Oumarou, "no other development project will have sparked so much long term interest or such high expectations". The first brick of the dam was laid by the President of Niger, Mamadou Tandja.