Work / monument · infrastructure

Afobaka Dam

1964 · 20th century

The Afobaka Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Suriname River, completed in 1964 to supply power to the aluminium smelter built by Alcoa's subsidiary at Paranam. Its reservoir, the Brokopondo Reservoir, is one of the largest in the world by area and flooded the homes of several thousand Saramaka and Ndyuka Maroons, who were moved to new villages. It remains the main source of Suriname's electricity.

Afobaka Dam
Image: NullAspect · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Afobaka Dam. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/afobaka-dam
MLA
“Afobaka Dam.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/afobaka-dam. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Afobaka Dam.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/afobaka-dam.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Afobaka Dam’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/afobaka-dam (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻