Rehabilitation Work as Per Schedule on Kariba Dam Project

The Zambezi River Authority is undertaking rehabilitation works on Kariba Dam project located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The work is progressing as per schedule. The project which has been delayed also includes construction of an access road which is now ready to carry 130 tonne crane into the Zambezi River. Kariba Dam stands at stands 128 mtr (420 ft) tall and 579 mtr (1,900 ft) long.

The dam forms Lake Kariba which extends 280 km and holds 185 cu kilo ltr of water. Rehabilitation works on the project include reshaping of the plunge pool downstream of the dam wall, which commenced in 2017, and the rehabilitation of the spillway.

The spillway consists of six gates in the upper part of the concrete dam wall through which the ZRA releases water into the plunge pool to manage the reservoir water levels.

The rehabilitation of the dam is being financed by the European Union (EU), the World Bank, the Swedish government and the African Development Bank (AfDB) while the two governments have also contributed counterpart funding.