# Calueque

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{{Infobox settlement
| name = Calueque
| official_name = Calueque
| settlement_type = Town
| image_map = Angola location map.svg
| subdivision_type4 = Province
| subdivision_name4 = [Kunene Province](/source/Kunene_Province)
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = [Angola](/source/Angola)
| coordinates = {{coord|17|16|57|S|14|32|5|E}}
}}
{{Short description|Town in Kunene Province, Angola}}
'''Calueque''' is a town next to a dam and pumping station of the same name on the [Kunene River](/source/Kunene_River) in the [Kunene Province](/source/Kunene_Province) of southern [Angola](/source/Angola). The water project is linked to [Ruacana](/source/Ruacana), {{convert|20|km|abbr=on}} away in [Namibia](/source/Namibia), where the [Ruacana Power Station](/source/Ruacana_Power_Station) is. This dam is one of the last landmarks along the Kunene River, prior to the Kunene becoming a border feature between Angola and Namibia.<ref>
{{Cite encyclopedia
|last=Hogan
|first=C. Michael
|year=2012
|url=http://www.eoearth.org/article/Kunene_River?topic=78166
|title=Kunene River
|editor-last=Saundry
|editor-first=P.
|editor2-last=Cleveland
|editor2-first=C.
|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Earth
|publisher=National Council for Science and the Environment
|location=Washington DC
|accessdate=2012-05-14
}}</ref> A {{convert|300|km|abbr=on}} pipeline and canal extends across the border into [Namibia](/source/Namibia), supplying towns as far away as [Oshakati](/source/Oshakati) in [Ovamboland](/source/Ovamboland) with water.  The dam was completed in 1976. However, due to the onset of the [Angolan civil war](/source/Angolan_civil_war) following independence, the full master plan for the scheme was not realised by the [South Africa](/source/South_Africa)n and [Portuguese](/source/Portugal) governments.<ref>
{{cite press release
|title=Agreement between the government of the Republic of South Africa and the government of Portugal in regard to the first phase of development of the water resources of the Cunene river basin
|url=https://www.fao.org/docrep/W7414B/w7414b11.htm
|date=21 January 1969
|publisher=Département de l'administration et des finances (Portugal)
|accessdate=2012-05-02
}}</ref>

==Angolan Civil War==
The area was of considerable strategic importance, providing the pretext for the initial 1975 [South African military](/source/South_African_Defence_Force) intervention in the [Angolan Civil War](/source/Angolan_Civil_War) when staff at the facility were threatened by [guerrilla](/source/guerrilla)s.<ref>
{{cite book
|title=Days of the Generals
|page=21
|last=Hamann
|first=Hilton
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mYgWcHq8lE8C
|publisher=[New Holland Publishers](/source/New_Holland_Publishers)
|year=2001
|isbn=978-1-86872-340-9
|accessdate=2007-10-15
}}</ref> Full intervention through the SADF's [Operation Savannah](/source/Operation_Savannah_(Angola)) followed shortly afterwards.

Throughout the Angolan Civil war Calueque remained continuously occupied by South African forces. In 1988, during the [Battle of Cuito Cuanavale](/source/Battle_of_Cuito_Cuanavale), the [Cubans](/source/Cuba_in_Angola) opened a second front against the South Africans and launched a massive ground offensive in the direction of Calueque. The area to the north of the dam became the scene of bloody fighting which proved to be a turning point in the war. On 27 June 1988, [Cuba](/source/Cuba)n [MiG-23](/source/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-23) fighters attacked the facilities. The first wave of aircraft bombed the bridge and [sluice](/source/sluice) gates, killing South African soldiers in the process. Another wave bombed the pumps and generator, while a third destroyed the pipeline to Ovamboland. Significantly, one of the last bombs hit the position of [South African soldiers](/source/South_African_Defence_Force) nearby who had exited their [Buffel](/source/Buffel) troop carrier to watch the events unfold. The dam and pipelines were considerably damaged, rendering the scheme inoperable. The South Africans (SWATF, A Coy, 701Bn) were the last to leave, retreating over the bridge back into SWA on 29 June, after blowing up the ramparts that were built at the dam wall.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Cuban Intervention in Angola, 1965-1991: From Che Guevara to Cuito Cuanavale|last=George|first=Edward|year=2005|publisher=[Routledge](/source/Routledge)|page=245|isbn=0-415-35015-8}}</ref>

Whilst the Calueque Dam and bridge were neglected since the bombing of 1988,<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.namibian.com.na/2007/July/national/07A5358397.html
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070815041710/http://www.namibian.com.na/2007/July/national/07A5358397.html
|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 August 2007|date=16 July 2007|title=No plans to repair Calueque wall|publisher= The Namibian}}</ref> the Angolan Government in April 2012 signed a US$225 million contract for the rehabilitation of the dam wall, the construction of two hydro plants, a new channel and 21 irrigation pivots. The project was awarded to [Mota-Engil](/source/Mota-Engil) and Lyon and is scheduled to take 25 months.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/economia/2012/3/14/Calueque-Dam-under-rehabilitation,e5b8b352-3deb-4fe4-9d3c-0491595be900.html
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130403172055/http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/economia/2012/3/14/Calueque-Dam-under-rehabilitation,e5b8b352-3deb-4fe4-9d3c-0491595be900.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 April 2013|date=4 February 2012|title=Calueque Dam under rehabilitation|publisher=ANGOP}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080120211559/http://uk.geocities.com/sasolboy/calueque.html Calueque Dam Bomb Damage]
*[https://www.nampower.com.na/pages/ruacana.asp Ruacana Power Station page at Namibia Power official website]

{{coord|17|16|57|S|14|32|5|E|type:city(3000)_region:AO|display=title}}

Category:Angola–South Africa relations
Category:Angola–Namibia relations
Category:Dams in Angola
Category:Populated places in Cunene Province

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Calueque](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calueque) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calueque?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.