Zambezi River Authority on course with Kariba Dam rehabilitation project

By James Kunda

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) -The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) announced Monday that the Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project (KDRP) is on course in line with its 2025 completion date.

The project involves reshaping the plunge pool and refurbishment of the spillway gates at the Kariba Dam.

"The project has been ongoing since 2017 and is expected to be completed in 2025," ZRA Chief Executive Officer Munyaradzi Munodawafa told reporters in a statement issued by the authority in the capital Lusaka.

Munodawafa said that from its inception, the project’s objective has been to ensure the enhancement of the structural integrity of the dam to ensure the sustainable generation of power primarily for the benefit of the people of Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

"Progress on the plunge pool reshaping works has been progressing well and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2024. Despite some delays encountered during implementation, the project remains on course and the works are 60% complete," he added.

Munodawafa said the project owner remained resilient in project implementation despite unforeseen geological complexities and staff inadequacies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ZRA is a binational organization mandated by the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe to sustainably harness the hydropower potential offered by the transboundary waters of the Zambezi River.

The authority has allocated 45 billion cubic meters of water to be shared equally between Zesco Limited in Zambia and Zimbabwe Power Company for their respective power generation operations in 2022.

Zambia’s end, called the Kariba North Bank Power Station, has an installed capacity to generate 1,080 Megawatts (Mw) of power while Zimbabwe’s end, the Kariba South Bank Power Station, has a 1050Mw installed capacity.