Kainji Dam, Hydroelectric power station in Niger State, Nigeria

Kainji Dam spans the Niger River in Niger State with a 550-metre concrete central section, 65 metres high, housing the hydroelectric turbines; the rest of its roughly 10-kilometre length is earthfill. At the base, circular openings sit between angled concrete buttresses, and a rectangular channel on the right holds pipes, brackets and ladders. Eight of twelve planned turbines are installed, giving 760 megawatts.

Construction of Kainji Dam began in 1964 and was completed in 1968, carried out by Impregilo, a consortium of Italian civil engineering contractors, on designs by the joint consultants Balfour Beatty and Nedeco. The project cost an estimated US$209 million, a quarter of which went to resettling about 55,000 people displaced by the dam and its reservoir, Kainji Lake.

The construction of the dam required the resettlement of local communities, leading to significant changes in the social patterns of the Niger State region.

Visitors can walk or drive across the dam and observe the river from above, getting a good view of the water flow and surroundings. The dry season offers more stable conditions for exploring the site.

The dam's single lock chamber lifts barges 49 metres, connecting river traffic between the lower and upper Niger. Kainji Lake, about 135 km long and up to 30 km wide, covers roughly 1,300 km2 and is shared between Niger and Kebbi States. Its creation displaced around 55,000 people.