Kariba Dam plunge pool rehabilitation 60 pct complete

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HARARE, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Work to reshape Kariba Dam plunge pool that started in 2017 is progressing well and is now 60 percent complete, the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) said Tuesday.

ZRA chief executive Munyaradzi Munodawafa said the project, which also involves the refurbishment of the spillway gates, is scheduled for completion before the end of 2024.

"The Plunge Pool Reshaping works commenced in May 2017 and are being carried out by Razel Bec, a French civil engineering construction company. The works are targeted for completion before the end of 2024. The project is on course and the works are 60 percent complete," Munodawafa said.

The project involves re-shaping of the Kariba Dam plunge pool to address safety deficiencies as well as the refurbishment of six flood gates to enhance operational control of reservoir releases.

The rehabilitation of the man-made dam shared by Zimbabwe and Zambia is meant to secure long-term reliability of power generation by the two nations and the entire southern African region.

The spillway refurbishment works commenced in September 2019, with the contract being implemented by a Consortium of GE Hydro of France and Freyssinet International of France.

"The spillway refurbishment works are aimed at ensuring free movement of the gates used to shut the upstream opening of the flood gates during maintenance of the flood gates," Munodawafa said.

"It is worth mentioning that the overall objective of the Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project is not to seal cracks as has previously been speculated by some sections of the media, but rather to increase the lifespan of the dam wall.

"The project is on schedule while the contract implementation timeframe is 48 months from the commencement date. Consequently, the completion of the works will be accomplished in 2024," Munodawafa said.

The 300 million U.S. dollars project is jointly funded by the World Bank, European Union, the African Development Bank, Swedish government and the Zambezi River Authority, a bi-national organization managing the dam on behalf of the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The dam, constructed across the Zambezi River which divides Zimbabwe and Zambia between 1956 and 1959, was commissioned in 1960. The dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam, 128 m high and with a crest length of 617 m.

The two countries equally share the water resource for power generation. The dam supplies water to two underground hydropower stations with a total capacity of 2,130MW.

The North Bank Power Station is operated by ZESCO in Zambia and has an installed capacity of 1,080 MW while the South Bank Power Station is operated by Zimbabwe Power Company and has an installed capacity of 1,050 MW.

Both the Kariba North Bank Power Station and Kariba South Bank Power Station had their power generation capacity significantly improved in recent years with financial support from China.

Chinese contractor Sinohydro invested millions of U.S. dollars in expanding the capacity of the Kariba North Bank Power Station to the current 1,080MW after adding two 180 MW units in 2013.

On the other hand, the same contractor completed the expansion of Zimbabwe's Kariba South Bank Power Station in 2018, after adding two 150MW units, to raise the power station's capacity to the current 1,050MW. Enditem

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