 <unk> the symbolic significance of the dam to the Portuguese , FRELIMO proceeded to spend seven years attempting to halt its construction by force . No direct attacks were ever successful , but FRELIMO had some success in attacking convoys en route to the site . FRELIMO also lodged a protest with the United Nations about the project , and their cause was aided by negative reports of Portuguese actions in Mozambique . In spite of the subsequent withdrawal of much foreign financial support for the dam , it was finally completed in December 1974 . The dam 's intended propaganda value to the Portuguese was overshadowed by the adverse Mozambican public reaction to the extensive dispersal of the indigenous populace , who were forced to relocate from their homes to allow for the construction project . The dam also deprived farmers of the critical annual floods , which formerly re @-@ fertilised the plantations . 
