The Koka Reservoir (; ) is a reservoir in south-central Ethiopia. It was created by the construction of the Koka Dam across the Awash River. The reservoir has an area of .
Geography Located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, close to the capital and largest city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, the Koka Reservoir is popular with tourists and city-dwellers. There is a variety of wildlife and birds around the lake. The reservoir supports a fishing industry; according to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, of fish are landed each year, which the department estimates is either 52% or 89% of its sustainable amount."Information on Fisheries Management in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia" (report dated January, 2003) Table 1 has the lower estimate for the maximum sustainable amount; Table 4 the higher estimate. Both the reservoir and the dam are threatened by increasing sedimentation caused by environmental degradation as well as the invasive water hyacinth.
Architecture The Koka dam is concrete with a length of and a maximum height of . The head utilized is . The primary contractor was Imprese Italiane all'Estero. The subcontractor who provided the equipment was Gruppo Industriale Elettro Meccaniche per Impiante all'Estero, and subcontractor for mounting the equipment and the erection of the transmission lines was Società Anonima Elettrificazione. Construction started in December 1957 and formally concluded on 4 May 1960; the budget was Eth$ 30,641,000."Local History in Ethiopia" (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 12 June 2008) The power plant, with 132 kV transmission lines, began full operation on 28 August 1960.50th Anniversary: http://www.addisfortune.com/Vol%2010%20No%20540%20Archive/newsinbrief.htm Addis Ababa is the primary benefactor. The total potential electric output is 110 GWh/year.Water Analysis for Ethiopia, THE WATER OF THE AWASH RIVER BASIN A FUTURE CHALLENGE TO ETHIOPIA http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/assessment/files/pdf/publications/WorkingPapers/WaterofAwasBasin.pdf The engineering plan was designed and implemented by Mekonnen Weldayohanes.
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