A great construction demands a lot of iron, concrete, technology and the endless search for conquering of the impossible. These were the pre-requisite resposnible for putting Itaipu in the list of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
The Itaipu Binational Hydrolectrical Power Plant, world’s largest in operation, is a binational entreprise by Brazil and Paraguay on the Paraná River. The Dam’s installed potential is of 12.6000 MW (Megawatts), with 18 generating units, each with an output of 700 MW. The record production of 2000 was 93,4 billion KW per hour (KWh) was responsible for 95% of the total Paraguayan consumption and 24% of the Brazilan market demand.
The largest hydroelectrical power plant in the world impresses for its sheer numbers and dimensions. Predestined, before the power of waters, the region lives a contrast: between nature’s grandiose work and man’s ingenuity. Besides generating energy, Itaipu Binational completes the scenery by offering a spectacle with the waters of the Paraná that are forced to go through its spillway.
It took 17 years and thousands of men to build it. In the latter days of construction, the number of workers was in excess of 40.000. Itaipu itself holds some big numbers of its own like a length of 7.600m and the capacity to generate 12.60Mw. With the closing of the floodgates in October 1982, an artificial lake was formed, the Lake of Itaipu, with a an extension of 1.350 km and a volume of 29 billion cubic meters of water.
Tourist Visit – Open to all and there is no need for appointments
It is a visit to the outside of the Dam with two stops: one at the Spillway Lookout Point and the other at the Central Lookout Point. The visit has to be done on tour buses or Itaipu Buses. This vist has a duration of one hour and a half.
Recommendations: Light, comfortable clothes, tennis shoes.
Opening hours: From Wednesday to Monday from 08h30 a.m to 4h p.m
Pay a visit fee.
