COMPLEJO TURÍSTICO ITAIPÚ

In the 1960s, Brazil's strong demographic and economic development made it necessary to find new sources of energy to meet the growing demand of the megacities of Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro in particular. Negotiations began in 1966 with Paraguay to undertake research along the border river, the Paraná River, which, together with its tributaries, constitutes the third largest hydrographic network in the world. The site of Itaipú "stone that sings" in Guarani, a small rocky island, 14 km from the towns of Foz and Ciudad del Este, attracted the attention of the engineers. The river was narrowed at this point and the basalt bedrock could support the massive weight of a future structure. On 26 April 1973, after several years of technical and financial studies, the military governments of Brazil and Paraguay signed the Treaty of Itaipú, which provided for the construction of a joint hydroelectric power station. A binational entity is created the following year to manage the work and operation of the plant: the Binational Entity of Itaipú. Work began in May 1975, with the excavation of 22.5 tons of earth and rock, to dig a canal (90 m deep, 150 m wide and 2 km long), intended to temporarily divert the river from its natural bed while the future dam was being built. The construction of dikes downstream and upstream of the future dam, the central and side dams (7.2 km in total) and the spillway (to prevent the reservoir from overflowing), took place from 1978 to 1982. Then the turbines of the power station itself were installed. The first power generating unit began operation in May 1984, and the entire plant was operational in March 1991, with 18 turbines (increased to 20 in 2007). This titanic construction site cost the equivalent of 20 billion dollars (but most of this coquettish sum has been diverted by corruption!). It required, among other things, six concrete plants with a capacity of 180 m³/hour each, two huge cooling plants for the production of chilled water (not for the workers' dugout, but to cool the concrete, which has to withstand the high temperatures of the region), the iron and steel equivalent of 380 Eiffel Towers, dozens of cranes and hundreds of trucks and bulldozers, and more than 40,000 workers and engineers. The cities of Foz and Ciudad del Este will triple their population and modernize at high speed.

Itaipú has long been the world's largest and most powerful hydroelectric power plant (before China's Three Gorges power plant was commissioned in 2006). This has earned it inclusion in the ranking of the Seven Wonders of the Technological World, along with the Channel Tunnel and the Panama Canal. 90 billion kilowatts of electrical energy are produced every hour and the installed capacity is 14 million kilowatts. The plant supplies 91% of the electricity consumed in Paraguay and 25% of that consumed in Brazil. But the most impressive engineering work in South America has had a significant ecological and social impact. While the plant saves 500,000 barrels of oil a day, this thirst for energy has required major sacrifices. The reservoir lake, which filled in 14 days during October 1982, flooded under 100 metres of water a large part of the Paraná River valley, including 1,500 km² of primary forests and agricultural land, where thousands of peasant and indigenous families lived. The latter were moved without any real compensation. Many displaced Brazilian farmers then settled on the Paraguayan side, as land was cheaper. A rescue plan organized by environmental volunteers saved thousands of animals from drowning, but most have disappeared along with their habitat. The lake has also engulfed the mythical Cascade of the Seven Falls (Saltos del Guairá), a succession of 18 waterfalls, 7 of which are considered the largest and among the most beautiful in the world.

A guided tour is offered free of charge to visitors (passport required). It begins with a rather "propaganda" film about the dam and the power plant, then you are taken by bus to a auditorium-mirador for a panoramic view of the dam. On Fridays and Saturdays (at 18:30 in winter, 19:30 in summer) the Iluminación Monumental takes place, a beautiful light and music show lasting about 30 minutes. It is free, but it is necessary to book in advance (no later than Thursday). Two other types of visits, called "especial" and "técnica", are more technical. They are subject to special conditions (number of people, or functions) and allow access to the power plant to observe the turbines closely. These two special visits require a reservation at least one week in advance.

Modelo reducido. At 1 km from the visitors' centre (on the other side of the road), there is a hundredth replica of the Itaipú power station. In the open air, the model is 280 m long, for 5,500 m² and had a simulation function to evaluate the proper functioning of the dam. Access by reservation at the visitor centre.