Foz do Iguaçu
May 31, 2025 — Brazil
Locate on the map 
Itaipu Dam
The city of Foz do Iguaçu is a good base for visiting two impressive sites: the Iguaçu Falls (previous blog post) and the Itaipu Dam.
The binational Itaipu project is the third-largest hydroelectric dam in the world and was built jointly by Brazil and Paraguay. Itaipu has an electricity production capacity of 14,000 megawatts.
By comparison, the Three Gorges Dam in China (the largest in the world) produces 22,400 MW, and Robert-Bourassa/La Grande-2 in Quebec (the largest in Quebec) produces 5,616 MW. Here are some statistics:
| 3rd largest dam in the world | |
| completed in 1984 | |
| 20 turbines of 700 megawatts | |
| maximum height of 196 metres, equivalent to a 65-storey building | |
| the volume of water flowing through the dam is 40 times greater than the volume of the Iguaçu Falls. |
| 536,000 barrels of oil would be needed to produce this amount of electricity | |
| the iron used in its construction is equivalent to 380 Eiffel Towers (France) | |
| with the cement used, 210 football (soccer) stadiums could have been built | |
| 50 million tonnes of earth and rock were moved |
| 10,000 displaced families | |
| the Guaíra Falls were flooded; they were the largest waterfalls in the world in terms of volume | |
| it is one of the most expensive projects ever built |
Chen Tien Buddhist Temple
