Products and services
| Itaipu hydroelectric power plant, Holcim Brasil, Brazil |
| The Itaipu hydroelectric power plant, the largest in operation anywhere in the world, is situated on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The dam is over 7 kilometers long and as high as a 65-storey building, and regulates up to 62,000 meters of water per second, 40 times that of the massive Iguaçu Falls. |
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It began operating in 1991 with 18 generating units, but due to growing demand, two additional units have since been installed – each with a generating capacity of 700 MW. By 2000, it was supplying over 90% of the energy consumed by Paraguay and 20% of that consumed by Brazil.
During its construction, the course of the Paraná River, the seventh biggest river in the world, was diverted, and 50 million tonnes of earth and rock removed. The amount of Holcim concrete used during its construction was 15 times that used in the Channel Tunnel. The area around the reservoir has become a popular recreational area, and a number of nature reserves have also been set aside. A special channel has also been created to allow the fish in the river to reach their original spawning grounds. |
| “When we built the two new turbines, we had to transport the fresh ready-mix concrete 80 meters below. Such a drop would normally cause the concrete to crumble, but new developments in pumping technology and a special concrete mix allowed us to address the problem without wasting any time.” José Luiz Pereira Junior, Ready-mix Coordinator, Holcim Brazil |
