Around 1300 delegates from 80 countries have assembled in Porto for HYDRO 2019, to discuss practical aspects of moving hydropower projects from concepts to closure.
Alison Bartle, Director of Aqua-Media International, welcomes participants, and reflects on how far the hydro sector has moved on, since HYDRO 2004 took place at the same venue. She highlighted some ongoing schemes worldwide, and previewed the conference sessions
Manuel Oliveira, Director of Optimisation and Maintenance of EDP’s fleet of hydro projects, welcomed participants to Portugal, and gave an overview of hydropower and pumped-storage in his country.
ICOLD President Michael Rogers (right) and Secretary-General Michel de Vivo, who gave opening addresses. They highlighted the mission of ICOLD and some current activities and initiatives, including the current emphasis on dam safety, and the launching of a World Declaration on Safety.
The Panel of Experts for the investigations on the Saddle dam failure at the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy scheme in Laos last year, Prof A. Schleiss, J-P. Tournier, and A. Chraibi, gave a talk on their findings during the plenary session.
Angela Nalikka, Manager of the Power Systems Division of the African Development Bank, gave an opening talk on the AFDB’s support for hydropower, and she gave a brief update on the regional schemes which were priorities within the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa.
