The dam is to be built on the Kwanza River in Angola. It is 132m tall and will create will create a reservoir of 188 square km.
Power will be generated primarily by six generating units.
Brazilian company Odebrecht is the EPC contractor.
The overall cost of the project is $4.3 billion. Part of this financing (€400 million) was provided by HSBC, UniCredit and AKA Bank and supported by CESCE,Oesterreichische Kontrollbank Aktiengesellschaft and a Hermes led consortium.
The project is part of a wider plan by the Angolan government to produce 9GW of energy by 2025, turning the country into an exporter of electricity to markets such a Namibia and South Africa.
Hydropower accounts for more than two thirds of Angola's energy generation and the Kwanzi river itself already has two dams: the 180MW Cambambe and the 130MW Capanda, while a third, the 2.171GW Caculo Cabaça is being developed.